Not Enough
by I want George
Summary: Finally FINISHED! NS yeah, I'm shocked too. Set after Crash and Burn, Sara tries to avoid seeing Hank, and who's there to save her ass? Oh, yeah: Nick! My first shot at a chapter shory, so work with me here. Please note: now rated M
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Well, who knew that writing was a cure for insomnia? I've been so busy and my creative juices have just not been flowing these past few weeks, and then tonight I'm about to go to bed when _bam!_, inspiration strikes! I think this'll be my first multi-chapter story (oh, the excitement!), so stay tuned.

And a big _muchas gracias_ to all the gorgeous people who reviewed my two previous stories; especially the first one, which I was_this_ close to not posting, but now I'm glad I did, so thanks guys. You rock. :)

This one's for you, A Christy. You gotta cut me a little slack here- not all of us were born with the gift and talent you were!

**Spoilers:** Crash and Burn, directly after which the story is set. That's season three, for the less-obsessed CSI fans out there.

**Disclaimer:** CSI's not mine, and neither is George Eads- yet.

It had been about a month since Sara Sidle had found out that her boyfriend of over a year had been cheating on her. While she had always suspected that things weren't 100 between the two of them, he had seemed a nice guy, and they'd had fun together. Not only was it a huge shock to her when she found out that he'd had someone else for – evidently – quite a while, but it had hurt. It had hurt that she'd been betrayed, when she'd promised herself she'd never trust anyone except herself. It had hurt that for once she'd decided to go and try and live like a normal person, and it had backfired in her face. And it had hurt that Hank had stayed with Elaine, and ditched her as soon as everything was out in the open. She wasn't good enough, it was that simple. She'd always told herself that she'd never be good enough for anyone, and for once she thought she'd be able to prove the little cynic inside herself wrong. But no, everything had come crashing down on her once again, and she found herself more alone than ever.

As she sat in the passenger seat department-issue vehicle, her head leaning on the window, jolting lightly with every bump along the road, she contemplated everything about her and Hank's relationship, and she had done so many times before on the way to work, while processing evidence, while pouring her coffee. Being such an analytic person, and always being so sure and so right about everything – and every_one_ – , she still found it hard to believe that she'd been fooled. It was just so unlike her. She closed her eyes and was unaware of the soft but audible sigh she emitted until her friend and co-worker Nick Stokes broke the silence from the driver's seat.

"You doing okay, Sara?"

Sara opened her eyes slightly and looked out the window. "Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Just thinking."

"Feel like sharing?" He smiled at her.

She smiled back wearily at him. "I'm okay." She paused. "But thanks."

"Well, you know I'm always here." He smiled genuinely at her again, and had to wonder to herself how a guy as nice as him could be single. She'd only dated one person since she'd come to Vegas thee years earlier, and although Nick had been on numerous first-dates, he'd never seem to find anyone special.

Her train of though was interrupted as the pulled up to the crime scene, Detective O'Reilly already there waiting for them.

"Hey, guys… just the two of you today?"

"Yeah, well, looks like a standard BE- doesn't take a genius to process the scene. Although two geniuses means twice the fun." Nick grinned at Sara.

O'Reilly smiled lightly, updating them on the current situation. "Looks like it wasn't so standard after all. Securing officer located a DB behind the bedroom door. We didn't spot it the first time, so we didn't report it when we called you guys. 'Medics are already inside."

Nick turned to Sara. "What do you say, you take perimeter and I'll cover inside the inside, then you can come help me when you're done?"

Sara smiled. "Or, an ever better idea- _you_ take perimeter, _I _cover inside, and _you_ come help _me_ when _you're_ done." She smirked at him.

"Fine, what about this: we stone-paper-scissors it out here, both go check out the inside first, and then loser takes perimeter and winner stays inside after the paramedics leave?"

"Deal."

After a quick game that resulted in Sara gloating and Nick complaining that in reality, a rock couldn't actually break a pair of scissors, the two headed inside, towards the rear of the house. Sounds emerged from the last door on the right of the hallway, and Sara headed that way as Nick talked to the securing officer in the living room. Crouching down and examining what appeared to be a muddy footprint on the rug in front of the door, Sara suddenly looked up into the room to see none other than Hank Pettigrew packing up his kit on the other side of the room.

Although he hadn't seen her, Sara instantly felt panicked. They hadn't spoken since she broke up with him at the police station the previous month, and she just didn't feel like she could face him right now. As she felt herself getting emotional as all the anger and frustration of everything that happened between them came flooding back, she did the only thing she could think of, and picked up her field kit before walking as quickly and calmly as she could manage towards the front door of the house.

Nick had just finished up with the officer and was about to head down towards the crime scene when a flushed and somewhat flustered Sara came charging down towards him, evidentially heading for the door.

"Sara, where's the fire? I said you won, fair and square, I was just about to tell you I was heading on outside."

Sara felt herself shaking slightly as she managed to stutter out, "Yeah, uh, y'know, on second though, I, uh, I thought I… could… take the, uh, perimeter. I mean, it's kinda dirty outside, and these are my old jeans, and it would make more sense since you're better with fibres, and there's something jammed in the, uh, door hinge thingy, and-"

She was interrupted by Nick staring intently into her eyes, as he placed one hand on her shoulder. "Sara? Are you okay?"

She was about to tell him she was fine, she was Sara, of course she was fine, but the way he was looking at her made her feel even more awkward than she already was, and all she could do was just look at her fidgeting hands. "I… uh…" she glanced nervously down at the hallway behind her.

Nick softly rubbed his thumb along her shoulder before letting go of her and walking down the hallway. He glanced into the last room down the corridor, and Sara saw his face tighten as he instantly turned and walked back towards her, veering off into the kitchen. "Sara, c'mere."

She followed him, feeling shaky once more as she thought of how uncomfortable and embarrassing things were going to get if she didn't get out of there- and soon.

Nick guided her to stand with her back against the countertop, and stood square in front of her, his hands holding her at her elbows. "Sara… listen. I know you probably don't feel like facing Hank yet, especially after everything he did to you, but trust me, him seeing you, not having a care in the world, is gonna make him feel a lot worse than not seeing you at all."

Sara spoke quietly. "I don't think I can."

Squeezing her arms a little tighter as he looked at her. "It's too soon, right?"

"Yeah. I… I'm just not ready."

"Sara, you can't hide forever." She looked away, a look of fear in her eyes, and he smiled softly at her. "Okay. You go cover the perimeter and I'll process in here. At least until they leave, okay?"

Sara smiled slightly shakily at him, touched at how understanding he was being about everything. She nodded and spoke briefly as she glanced up into his eyes. "Thank you."

He let go of her arms, smiling warmly. "Anytime, Sara. Just promise me one thing."

Sara was itching to escape from the house before the uncomfortable experience she was trying to avoid actually happened. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"We'll talk about this later, okay?"

Sara smiled at him one last time, and then quickly picked up her kit and bolted out the front door. Nick watched it close after her, then grabbed his own kit and headed down the back of the house.

Walking down the hallway, the paramedics were just leaving. He nodded in greeting to the first two men to walk past him, and stopped to look Hank right in the eye as they passed each other.

"Nick. Hey." Hank's tone was wary.

"Hank." Nick nodded at him, noticing Hank had stopped.

"Is, uh, Sara with you?"

Nick didn't even think as he responded. "Uh, no, actually… busy night. She's back at the station, finishing off some paperwork."

Hank took the information in, but didn't say anything, a thoughtful expression on his face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it, before opening and closing it once again, not saying a word.

Nick looked at him grimly. "Yeah, okay."

"Just, uh… I'm sorry. Tell her I'm sorry. I gotta go." Hank now seemed the one flustered as he quickly pushed past Nick and walked hastily out the door.

Shaking his head to himself, Nick walked into the bedroom, crouching on the floor to examine the blue fibre Sara had told him about that was wedged in the brass hinge of the door.

Meanwhile, Sara was photographing what she thought could be a possible set of the same footprints she'd found on the rug by the bedroom; this time, they were pacing through the side garden of the house. This conveniently gave her opportunity and reason to head around back, hiding from the paramedics she could just see leaving.

It was a quiet trip back to the lab, three hours later. The sun was just beginning to come up, and the rose-coloured sky gave both CSIs something to focus on other than the awkwardness within the car. As they pulled up to the crime lab, it was Nick who was the first to speak.

"Okay, here's my plan- I do the Greg drop-off, you take Hodges, we file our draft shift reports and then in half an hour, I'm taking you out to breakfast."

Sara groaned. "Nick, thank you… for saving my ass today, and I swear I'll return the favour sometime, but I don't need to be pitied. I'm fine. Really. I'm okay." She paused for a second. "Plus, I'd rather stay and just get the whole report done, and then we can start tracing the shoe prints-" Once again, she was cut off.

"We have tomorrow to do that. Have breakfast with me. Please. I'm hungry. You know that. I'm always hungry. I need food. And food plus Sara equals happy Nick." He smiled goofily at her, and she had to laugh.

"Well now you mention it, it _is_ Waffle Friday at the diner…"

"So it's settled. I'll see you in half an hour. Whether you come with by your own free will or I end up dragging you out by your lab coat will be your own personal choice." He winked at her, and then walked through the glass doors, leaving Sara standing at the car, with a smile on her face.

**Another A/N: **There ya go. Okay, I'm off. I'll update as soon as I can. The more demand, the faster the update. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Aww, reviews, yay! Thanks, y'all :)

My internet hasn't been working that well for the past day or so, so I haven't been able to get this up as quick as I would have liked, but hey. So thanks for all hanging in there. I seem to write best at the really early hours of the morning, which can be a huge pain in the ass, but I've been writing a little every night. Now I guess I'm not only an insomniac, I'm an insomniac with no life.

* * *

True to his word, when Sara emerged just over half an hour later from the crime lab, Nick was standing waiting for her. Leaning up against the side of his four-wheel drive, he seemed to be lost in thought and didn't even see her until she walked across the parking lot and waved in his face, grinning slightly.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Nick jumped slightly, and then smiled. "Oh, hey. Sorry. I was thinking. You ready to go?"

"You'd better believe it, considering you're dragging me away from my paperwork for this."

"Hey, don't try to tell me at the end of this that you didn't enjoy yourself. You get free food and great company- what more could you want?"

Sara smirked. "Okay, I'm not disagreeing on the company point, but you're not paying for my breakfast. I told you, you don't have to pity me."

"I'm not. Can I not just take my friend out for breakfast without getting picked on? Jeez, Sara…" Nick pretended to look hurt as he moved around to the driver's side of the car.

For a moment, Sara felt minorly guilty, but she knew Nick well enough to know he was kidding. Without saying a word, she climbed into the other side of the vehicle and fastened her seatbelt as Nick pulled out from the parking lot.

It was a short drive to the diner, but Nick and Sara always had the tendency to talk together wherever they were. They made comfortable conversation as they drove the five, maybe ten minutes to the diner, chatting about everything from the case to their plans for the next week. Everything, that is, besides the thing they were both thinking about- Hank, and what had happened the previous shift. Sara decided to herself on the way that she would avoid the topic as long as she could; Nick made his mind up that he was going to make Sara tell him exactly what was bothering her.

Less than ten minutes later, the two were seated at their favourite window booth at the back of the diner. They both always knew where to sit without having to discuss or even think about it; Sara liked to sit with her back to the rest of the small restaurant, focusing out the window, and Nick liked to be able to watch everyone else inside with them, and see when their food was arriving. It was a comfortable habit they both had with each other without even realising it.

They both quickly placed their orders, and then returned to their conversation about Greg's latest choice of music in the lab, with so-called offensive lyrics that seemed to annoy the day shift immensely, amusing the two of them no end. Sara chuckled slightly and then returned her gaze to the window, focusing on the many busy people crossing the street in the morning sun outside. She spoke suddenly, not really to Nick so much as just speaking her thoughts.

"I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a regular, nine-to-five office job."

Nick looked at her. "Yeah, me too. Y'know, with the Post-Its and the meetings…"

"…and the suits and the heels" Sara finished off. "Yeah. It's weird. I just can't picture either of us ever working like that. Can you?"

"No way. I mean, even if we worked days or something, maybe. But I never figured myself for an office-job kinda guy, I guess."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Nick spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Well it's a little late now." She smirked at him. "Of course you can."

"You promise not to bite my head off, or get all defensive or start lying to me, or whatever?"

Sara furrowed her brow slightly. "I know what you're gonna say. Last night. Yeah, I… didn't really act like myself, I guess. I never run away from what I'm scared of, and yesterday I did. People change. Your point?"

Nick leaned back into the soft leather of the booth slightly, looking at her directly across the table. "No, it's not that. I get it. You wanted to avoid a possible situation, and I get it. You don't need to worry that I'm gonna judge you for that, or whatever." He smiled gently at her. "I was just wondering… I mean, I wanted to kind of check… how are you doing with all this, Sara?"

She didn't say anything; instead, she reached out and picked up her fork, twirling it between her fingers slightly. Nick decided to carry on.

"I mean, I didn't want to just come out and _make_ you talk to me about it. Catherine sort of told me what happened, and said you'd be a little sensitive and everything, but I figured hey, you're Sara- you're strong, you'll be okay. And you _seemed_ to be okay. And then last night, when you freaked out about it, I realised that you're probably not as okay with everything as you've been telling people – and maybe even telling yourself – that you are. I mean, you and Hank went out for, what, a year? It's not like you can get over something like that in three weeks."

Nick didn't realise his glance had wandered as he'd been talking, and he had ended up staring out the window beside them. He turned his gaze to Sara, and saw that she too was staring past him out the window, a look of hurt on her face. Nick instantly regretted saying anything.

He spoke quietly. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business. I shouldn't have said anything. I mean I-" He stopped talking suddenly as he saw Sara had shifted her glance from outside to the pattern on the tablecloth of their booth, as a single tear spilled out and rolled down her face.

"Oh, Sara, I-"

Sara finally managed to speak, which she had just seconds ago been afraid to do, for fear of bursting into tears. "No, Nick, just…" she paused, leaning back and looking up and the ceiling. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore. I mean, what good does crying do?"

"It helps. Well, from what I've heard, anyway."

"No it doesn't. I learned very early on in my life that crying doesn't fix anything. All it does is make a mess and make you feel even worse. I'm not gonna cry again. I've cried too much about there. I must have contributed to about half of Kleenex's total income this year. I'm not gonna cry again." She sniffed quietly, and fanned her slightly red eyes with her hands, breathing in and out. "Okay. I'm okay. Sorry. I just… I haven't really talked to anyone about… what happened."

"What exactly _did_ happen Sara? I mean, Cath told me that you were having a rough time after finding out that Hank was cheating on you… but is that it? I mean, there has to be more…"

"Exactly, Nick. There had to be more. Plain and simple- he wanted more. I wasn't enough for him. He's pretty serious with that Elaine. And why wouldn't he be? She's perfect. So I found out, and he found out that I knew – I bet one of the other EMTs told him. So he came to find me at the police station and we talked in the hallway and that was it."

Sara saw Nick clench his jaw slightly. "And then you went and hung out with Catherine, right?"

"Yeah, we went to a bar. She was trying to be nice, shouted me a couple drinks, and insisted on regaling me with a million and one stories about her cheating ex-boyfriends and ex-husband, and telling me that men are scum. I think that was about all I took in from her all night." She laughed to herself.

"But you didn't really talk to her about everything that happened?"

"No, not really. I mean, what was there to say? All I wanted to do was go home, and I figured the less I talked, the sooner I could get out of there. I just don't really like talking about what's bothering me. I hate whiners."

"Sara, there's a difference between whining to someone and talking to them instead of bottling everything up inside. You can always come to me. Even for whining. You know that, right?" He smiled across at her. She smiled back.

"Yeah, I know. I just… didn't really feel like talking to anyone."

She paused as their food arrived at the table, and focused intently on her scrambled eggs as Nick picked up where she'd left off. "But it's not like you've been through this kinda thing a lot… well, recently, anyway. And after a _year_? Man, that's just scummy."

"I kinda think now that he was just with me because he couldn't be bothered to break up with me- like, I wasn't even worth _that_. Or maybe he just felt sorry for me. I don't know. It just frustrates me."

"What does?"

"Everything. I mean, all I hear is "Sara, get a life; Sara, leave your house once in a while; Sara, get out more. And I finally-"

Nick waved his arm at her lightly, his mouth full of bacon and toast. He chewed quickly and swallowed. "Whoa, whoa, _whoa_… who's been telling you to get out more?"

"Everyone. Gissom. My neighbours. You did, once."

"I did?"

"Uh-huh. I was getting all worked up about the case, and you told me to get out more."

"Oh, yeah. Oh, Sara, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you deserve to have some fun once in a while."

"Yeah, and that went well. I did try. I finally did try. I tried to actually talk to people outside of the night shift. I tried to make some actual friends and have a _life_… and hell of a lotta good that did me, too. I make a good friend, who turns out to be a murderer who's been _lying_ to me the whole time I knew her, and then I start dating someone who turns out to have been _cheating_ on me the whole time. It's like… sometimes I just wonder what the hell I'm supposed to _do_. _You _go out, and _you_ have friends, and _you_ go on nice, normal dates with nice, normal people, but oh, no, not me, not Sara. God forbid Sara have an actual regular, human relationship with someone. People always get on at me for trying not to get too close to people, but this is why, Nick. _This_ is why! Don't you get that?" The fury and anger in her eyes burned as she leaned over the table on her elbows, facing him, demanding an answer.

Nick reached over and held lightly onto her arm with his hand, leaning over to her side of the booth too. "Yeah, I do get that. I know it hurts, Sara, to have been lied to and betrayed, and to work so hard for something only to have it completely fail when you least expected it to. That's okay. Just talk. Let it out."

She rolled her eyes. "You sound like my shrink or something."

"If you want me to be, I will. Bring on the dorky glasses." His smile made her relax a little, and she started to talk again.

"It's just… I've always been like that. I only make acquaintances when I have to. I keep to myself. I stay reserved. I make friends with the people I work with. And then one day I realise that although this is who I am, maybe I should change. So I try to go out and be a better person, and make more friends, and change everything about the old Sara… and I end up exactly the same as I was before."

"Well I, for one, happen to like the old Sara very much."

She sighed bitterly. "Well you seem to be the only one who does- me included." She took another mouthful of her breakfast. "It just bugs me that for the first time in my life, I tried to actually look outside work to find someone, and it all blows up in my face."

"Maybe someone's trying to tell you not to be looking so hard _outside_ the lab." Nick wiggled his eyebrows at her. Sara snorted.

"You'd better not be talking about Grissom. I'm eating, here."

"And, ladies and gentlemen, she makes a joke! The old Sara seems to be making a comeback." He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm seriously. Grissom… never gonna happen. I figured while I was attempted to get over everything with Hank, I might as well get over everything with Grissom. Living in hope only leads to inevitable disappointment."

"Aww, Sara, c'mon. It's not that bad. Try a little optimism once in a while."

"I did. It didn't work. And then when everything comes crashing down I say to myself 'See, didn't you see this coming?' I tried to be optimistic about Hank, and we both know how well that went."

"I'm serious, though… you're over Grissom?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Living with a tiny hope is just not enough for me anymore."

They both quickly finished their meals, and Sara yawned as Nick left to booth to go and pay for their food. She sat up to protest about his payment for her meal, but before she could say a word, he turned around and raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't even _think_ about it. My treat, remember?"

Sara let out an exaggerated sigh of defeat as she got up out of her seat and walked over to where Nick was standing. "Let's roll."

"Let's. You want me to drop you home, or back at the lab, so you can get your own car?"

"Home's good. I can take a cab in tomorrow. I'm so tired, I just want to go to sleep."

"Alrighty." They walked out to the street to the vehicle together, their arms brushing against each other slightly before they separated and moved to their doors.

"Hey, Nick?"

"Yup?"

"Thanks for talking. I really do feel a lot better now."

Nick beamed at her, before getting into the driver's seat. "Good."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I really have no excuse for not updating- my creative juices have just not been flowing. I even tried the Insomnia Method (2 a.m. on Sunday morning), and I still got nothing, and then tonight I'm lying in bed, about to close my eyes, and _boom_, it hits me! So here we go again- another late-nighter of me typing away. The good news is, I _do_ actually have a pretty good idea for the next two chapters, so hopefully those should be up a little faster. Thanks for hanging in there, y'all.

And _merci beaucoup_ for _les_ reviews, guys! I really appreciate it :)

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The ride to Sara's house from the diner was a quiet one. The two CSIs were both tired and thoughtful, and barely a word was exchanged between the two as they wove through the streets of suburban Las Vegas to Sara's place.

Nick pulled into the driveway of her apartment complex. "Here we are."

Sara lifted her head from the car window, where it has been resting, her eyes closed, as they had been the day before on the way to the crime scene. "Oh. Yeah." She sat up slowly, grabbed her bag off the floor and started to get out of the car. "Thanks for dropping me home."

"No problem. Thanks for having breakfast with me."

She smiled at him, and then paused for a moment. "Nick?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"You wanna come in for a while?"

Nick's soft facial expression turned to one of surprise. "I thought you were tired."

"I am, a little… but I never go to sleep straight away when I get home, anyway. We could watch TV or something." For some reason, she found herself desperately wanting to stay with him just a little longer, though she couldn't exactly explain why.

Nick was surprised at Sara's offer, but never slept straightaway himself, and responded with barely a second thought. He smiled. "Yeah, sure. Okay." He turned off the engine.

They both walked quietly up the stairs to Sara's second-floor apartment as she fumbled in her bag for her keys. She undid the two locks on the door, and then opened it, holding it behind her for Nick.

"Two locks? A little paranoid, aren't we?" Nick teased, nudging her in the side. Sara smirked back at him over her shoulder.

"Okay, with all the stuff we see everyday, I don't wanna be next, okay? Don't diss the precautionary."

She dumped her bag on the countertop and headed round into the kitchen. "You want anything?"

"Water's fine, thanks." He stood by the front door, just looking around the apartment foyer.

"Uh, okay… any reason you're gawking?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I just didn't realise how long it'd been since I've been here. You painted the walls."

"Yeah. Interior design is my specialty." They both grinned at her sarcasm. Handing him a glass of water, she spoke again. "You wanna watch TV?"

"Sure." He followed Sara's lead into the living room, sitting himself on the opposite end of the couch to which she sat. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and propped his feet up on the polished wood. "What're you in the mood for?"

She glanced over at him, a look of false annoyance in her eyes as she exaggeratedly crossed her arms . "Why do _you_ get the remote?"

Nick played along with her. "'Cause I'm the guest. Manners, Sara. Sheesh!" He smiled charmingly at her, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine. There's probably a movie on cable or something." She watched as he began to channel-surf. Then, out of nowhere, she began to laugh to herself. Nick looked over at her questioningly.

"Did I miss something?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just… I didn't realise that it really _was_ true, the thing about guys not being able to stay on one channel for more thanhalf asecond." They both chuckled.

Nick changed his position on the couch and he laughed, manoeuvring himself slightly so that he facing Sara a little more, and leaning a little more towards her. "Yeah, well, how are you meant to know what's on every channel, if you stop to watch each one for ten minutes?"

"Well how can you even tell what's on, when you only get a glimpse at the screen for about an eighth of a second?"

Nick chuckled again. "Ahh, nice comeback. Fine then, Ms. Picky. What do _you_ want to watch?"

"Give me the remote, and I'll see."

"Never gonna happen."

"Oh yeah?" Sara tried to emphasise her point by lunging towards Nick. However, he was one step ahead of her, and held the remote high above his head as he leaned backwards, his body tilting towards the arm of the couch.

Although Sara swore to herself she wasn't looking, she couldn't help but notice the way Nick'sdeep blue shirt came up ever-so-slightly as he lifted his arm above his head, exposing a small patch of smooth, lightly-tanned skin. The exposure was small, but she could still see how extremely well-defined his stomach muscles were, and she felt her body weaken momentarily as she make for the remote once again. She squealed at him, surprising even herself at how _girly_ her voice sounded.

"Give it to me!"

Nick laughed. "Make me!"

"Well, maybe I will!" Sara decided to up the ante as she got up on her knees and made one final attempt to grasp the remote, still waving around above Nick's head. However, all she ended up doing was grabbing his wrist and she lost her balance and fell straight on top of him, forcing his body down beneath hers onto the couch. She felt his arm wrap automatically around her, making sure she didn't fall off, and she had to smile to herself. He really _was_ alwaysthe gentleman.

The two of them lay there for a few seconds silently, neither of them daring to speak or even breathe, when suddenly the awkwardness of the situation seemed to grab them both at the same time, as Sara lay on top of Nick on her couch, lying her head on his chest and her hand clutching at his wrist, as his one arm lay wrapped around his back, the other resting beside her shoulder. As she felt intense embarrassment wash over her, Sara did the only thing she could think of, and burst into hysterical laughter.

Nick had been wondering how he was going to get out of the slightly awkward situation they had somehow managed to get themselves into, and was greatly relieved when Sara started laughing. He laughed along with her and she pried herself off him, pushing up off the couch. She suddenly leaned back down towards him, and for one moment, Nick thought she was going to kiss him. He blushed slightly when he felt her instead reach for the remote that was still in his hand. She turned her face towards his, grinning.

"So I guess I win then."

He grinned back. "I guess you do."

She pulled back and moved back towards her original position on the couch, although Nick had to notice that she was sitting a little closer to him than she had been before their _moment_. She flicked her eyes to the screen and began to slowly scan the channels, stopping as something caught her eye.

"Ooh, I love this. Can we watch it?"

"Moulin Rouge? You serious?"

"Yeah, why not? Who can resist a _classic love tale_?" She spoke in a slightly ridiculing way, and Nick snorted slightly.

"Okay, _fine_. If anything, it will help put me to sleep." He fake-yawned, trying to look as un-enthusiastic as possible.

"Oh, yeah, right. Don't try and tell me you're not gonna watch it. I bet you own the DVD and everything."

Nick didn't say anything, as he leaned over into the arm of the sofa and lay his head against the back. Sara also shifted herself into a move comfortable position, stretching her purple-socked feet out and towards Nick's lap, causing him to smile.

"Purple socks, nice. Look, we match." He indicated towards his navy blue socks, with their small, purple polka-dots. Sara laughed.

"Yeah, I guess we do."

**Another A/N: **I meant to write more, I really did, but I'm soooo tired. I'll try and get something up tomorrow, I promise. For George's birthday- yay :D


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I hate this computer.

* * *

Nick moaned quietly as the harsh Vegas midday sun poured through Sara's half-open living room curtains onto the couch where the two of them were seated. He squinted his eyes blearily as he focused away from the window on the clock on the wall on the other side of the room. He'd been asleep for a little over two hours.

He turned his gaze to Sara. She was also asleep, breathing deeply and evenly on the other end of the couch. Her arm was curled to support her head, and her legs lay along the length of the sofa, her feet resting lightly on Nick's lap. It was then that Nick realised his left hand was holding lightly onto Sara's right foot, stroking it slightly through its socked material. He smiled at her, continuing to caress her foot as he took in her peaceful appearance.

While the couch was comfortable enough, he felt he should return home to get at least a little sleep before their next shift. Bracing himself against the arm of the furniture, he used his other hand to hold Sara's lower legs lightly out of the way, trying not to wake her as he lifted himself up and off the sofa. Despite his attempts, Sara breathed out audibly, flickering her eyes open and towards Nick. She smiled up at him.

"Hey. You going somewhere?"

Nick smiled back down at her. "Hey. Yeah, I was just about to head home. I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's fine. You don't wanna crash here?"

"No, it's cool. You should get to bed, anyway."

"I sleep here a lot of the time, anyway. A little TV after breakfast, and I'm out like a light." She stretched slightly, swinging her feet around to rest on the coffee table before them. "You can take my bed."

Nick smiled at her offer. "Oh, _no_, I'm not taking your bed. _You_ are. I'm going home to sleep."

"You sure?"

"Positive. But thanks anyway." He smiled at her generousness.

He moved over to the countertop, collecting his possessions, and then headed to the door. Sara sat up in her sleepy state to show him out. She opened the door as he put on his shoes, and then stood up and smiled at her.

"Alrightly. Thanks for breakfast, Nick." She yawned a little and wiped her eyes.

"It was my pleasure. We should do that more often."

"Yeah, I guess we should. Oh, and thanks for talking. I really do feel a whole lot better now."

Nick paused, looking at her intently before her spoke. "I'm always here for you, Sara… you know that, right?" He reached out for her shoulder before pulling her into a hug and he stroked her back gently. "If you ever want to talk, I'm here. Always. Okay?"

Sara tried her hardest not to cry as she just nodded into Nick's shoulder, not trusting herself to speak. When he finally let her go, maybe ten seconds later, she had regained composure.

"Thanks. It… it really means a lot to me." She paused. "Now get your ass home and get some sleep already!"

Nick poked her in the shoulder as he smiled. "Will do. See you in, what, seven hours?"

Sara laughed as he headed out the door. "Miss you already." Nick turned back to grin at her.

"Oh, I _know_ you do."

They both chuckled lightly as Sara walked back into her apartment. As she watched Nick walk across the parking lot to his car, she suddenly remembered something, and reached for the phone, dialling the number she knew by heart.

As his phone rang as he opened the door to his car, Nick looked at the calling number and then smiled up at Sara's second-storey window where she stood. He answered. "Guess you really did miss me already, huh?"

She smirked down at him. "I just remembered, I have no way to get into work tomorrow. Think you could come pick me up?"

"You betcha. I'll see you later tonight."

"Okay, thanks. And call me first, so I'm not naked or whatever when you arrive, okay?"

Nick laughed. "Okay. Though you say _naked_ like it's a bad thing."

Sara laughed back at him. "Go home, sicko. I'll see ya." She hung up.

Nick smiled to himself as he hung up his cell phone and got into his vehicle, hoping any thoughts of Sara naked wouldn't distract him on his way home.

Sara quickly washed her face and cleaned her teeth, slipping into her favourite pair of cotton pajamas as she climbed into her bed. She had to admit, it _was_ more comfortable than the couch. She set her alarm, and didn't even open her book as she lay down and closed her eyes.

It was a short drive home for Nick, as he quickly walked inside and was in bed in a matter of minutes. He found himself unable to shake the image of Sara from his mind, as he finally sighed and closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't find sleep to difficult.

A little over six hours later, both Nick and Sara's alarm clocks sounded almost simultaneously, as the two clambered out of bed and proceeded to get ready for work. Nick got ready slightly faster than Sara did, giving him plenty of time to get to her place and still make it to work before shift started.

He knocked on the door, and was slightly shocked as Sara opened it and poked her head around, her bare shoulder and arm exposed. She wore an expression of surprise, masked by slight amusement.

"Why hello. Did I not tell you to call first?"

Nick bit his lip, his eyes wide. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I totally forgot. I don't like using my cell while I'm driving."

"Yeah, right. Hoping to bust me naked, huh?" She smirked at him.

"No, actually, I did genuinely forget."

Sara smirked again. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not technically _naked_." She stepped away from the door, revealing the purple towel wrapped around herself. "I was drying my hair."

"Ahh." There was a pause. "You do like purple, huh?"

Sara laughed. "Yeah, I guess. I've just gotta get dressed- I'll be out in a couple of minutes. Have a seat. There's coffee in the kitchen." She disappeared back down the hallway.

Nick opened the kitchen cupboard, knowing exactly where Sara kept her cups; arranged by size in the cabinet nearest the sink. That's where they'd always been, since he'd known her, and he didn't think Sara the type of person to change. He reached for a mug and poured himself a cup of the strong, black coffee Sara had a particular liking for. He took in the surroundings as he sipped. A voice sounded from the back of the house.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let me just do my shoes, and we can get outta here."

"Sure. Take you time. We still have a half hour."

Sara quickly tied her shoes, grabbed her bag and jacket off the bench, and then nodded at Nick. "'Kay, let's go."

They both moved swiftly down the apartment block stairs and across the parking lot. Their regular conversation ensued as they climbed in to Nick's rig and he pulled out of the parking space.

It was about five minutes into the ride when Nick asked Sara her take on their current case. "So, with no viable suspects, who's your money on?"

"No idea. Cops talked to her friends… no boyfriend, apparently."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean no _ex_. And besides, I mean, she worked at the Tangiers; you know how many people who work there end up dead." He smiled over at her.

"_Oh_, yeah. Future note to self: do not become a blackjack dealer."

The discussed various points about the case as they got closer to the lab, finally pulling up in Nick's company-issue parking space right by the front entrance, Nick making a big deal of looking at his watch in mock surprise. "And, why, look! We're a whole _nineteen_ minutes early. You should be able to draft, what, _sixty_ pages of your shift report before staff meeting?"

Sara didn't say a word as she got out of the car, rolling her eyes at him. "And _you_ should be able to down at least _four_ cups of the department's delicious generic coffee. I'm extremely jealous."

They continued their playful banter as they walked together towards the glass door of the lab entrance, subconsciously drifting together as they talked. They walked inside and signed in with the receptionist. Nick, having written his name first, glanced down the hall as Sara filled her form in, his jaw clenching as he saw a group of three EMTs sauntering down the hall towards them, laughing and joking.

The paramedic on the left was the first to look up, seeing Nick and Sara standing just a few feet from him and his co-workers. He nudged Hank, who was standing beside him, gesturing with his chin.

Hank figured there needn't be any particularly hard feeling between himself and Sara now; they were _over_. Although Sara had been upset, it had been three weeks, and he was sure she'd be close tofine by now. He looked his colleagues on either side of him in the eye, assuring them to just keep walking.

Sara signed her name next to her clock-in time, and turned to smile at Nick, who was looking unusually tense. She was about to ask him what was wrong when a familiar face caught her eye a couple of feet away. She instantly felt uncomfortable, but decided that she had to face him sometime. She turned to face him squarely as she strongly spoke his name, making Nick and herself proud at how in-control she sounded, considering she was shaking inside. Nick placed his hand lightly on her lower back, stroking it with his thumb.

"Hank."

**Another, slightly elaborated A/N:** Man, my computer has been such a bitch these past few days. I was _this_ close to smashing it with my hairdryer. I had this written, like, days ago, but _nooooo,_ the internet decided it would be insanely fun to be on-again-off-again for four days straight. Damn thing. Fingers crossed, it seems okay now.

And big thanks to all my lovely reviewers. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Been busy-busy-busy, and tired-tired-tired. Sorry. Not like it matters, though; it seems with every passing chapter, the review numbers go down! Heh. I'm running out of languages, so I'll just say – in English – thanks so much to those who actually reviewed the past chapter. :)

I must have re-written this chapter four times in the past week, but every time, my attempts were so bad that I ended up atcually laughing at them- not a good sign. This final one has taken me _ages_, and I'm still not completely happy with it, despite excessive tweaking, but hey, what are you gonna do?

* * *

Hank looked around awkwardly as his coworkers walked right past him, past Sara and Nick, and our through the reception area, glancing back at him and chuckling among themselves. Hank smiled self-consciously, muttering under his breath sarcastically. "Thanks, guys." He removed his hat, before facing the two people in front of him at the desk. 

Nick looked over at Hank, his eyes cold and accusing. "What are _you_ doin' here?" Hank was surprised at Nick's seemingly furious air, as he stared accusingly across at him. There may have been five feet between the two men, but the intensity of Nick's stare made Hank feel like he should have been standing much further away. Hank made a conscious effort to appear relaxed, although he found himself glancing quickly at the clock, wanting to escape the awkwardness as fast as possible.

"I was, uh, just dropping my scene report off to your case detective, with the other guys. Our shift's almost up." He paused slightly, before diverting his gaze to the woman beside Nick, smiling awkwardly at her. "Uh, hey, Sara." He feebly attempted to wave his hand.

Hearing Hank say her name as he had done so many times before, Sara felt unsteady for a second. The feeling of Nick's hand still on her back was the only thing that kept her from running as fast as she could, as far as she could go, as she forced herself to look up and into her ex-boyfriend's eyes, not returning his phoney smile. "Hey. How've you been?" Her question was warm, but her tone and expression were icy-cold.

"Uh, pretty good." Hank instantly regretted his choice of words, as Sara's snarky response made him wish he'd answered differently.

"Yeah, I bet."

"I mean, not _good_, but just… y'know…" He drifted off, exhaling, finally deciding upon something else to say. "Yourself?" He played with his baseball cap he held in his hands, wanting anything to concentrate on other than the look of hurt and anger in Sara's eyes. Although he would never admit it, he did still feel slightly guilty for everything he'd done.

"Great, actually. Never better." She raised her eyebrows to emphasise her point. Although she sounded sarcastic, Sara realised she was actually telling the truth. The weeks since their breakup had been hard and emotion-filled, but she felt a stronger person afterwards, and more true to who she really was. There was a pause, making the situation even more embarrassing for everyone than it had already been. Though Sara had been contemplating taking a slightly more mature and uninterested approach, she was both curious and wanting to humiliate Hank when she finally broke the silence. "Let me guess- Elaine still doesn't know?"

Hank's eyes flicked back to Sara's in surprise. "What? Sara… what the…? That's none of your business."

"That's a no, huh?" Nick and Sara both rolled their eyes, and Nick exhaled loudly through his nose. "And apparently, it is my business. You have to tell her. She deserves to know."

"Sara, this is between me and Elaine now. It's really none of your business."

"Not anymore. You're gonna tell her, though. A relationship is supposed to be based on honestly, though god knows how well that went down with _us_." She shook her head in disgust, closing her eyes. "If you don't tell her, I will." She glared at him.

Hank's expression got more heated as he took a step towards Sara, and Nick's defensive side took over. "Don't you _dare_ touch her!" His sudden shout and lunge for Hank's shoulder made Sara jump. Hank, too, looked almost as surprised.

"Whoa, calm down, Stokes. I wasn't going to touch her. I don't ever plan to again". He snickered, causing Nick to move around Sara slightly, closer to him, as he spoke right up to his face.

"Get the _hell_ out of our lab."

Hank's regular blank expression returned, as he replaced his hat on his head, and shifted his glace to the door down the end of the hallway. "I always knew about you two, anyway. I'll see you guys." He avoided eye contact and, in three quick strides, was past Nick and Sara and heading out towards the parking lot.

Sara didn't even turn around to watch him walk away down the hall. Instead, she stood exactly where he had been, Nick still gently stroking her back. She breathed out a long breath of air that she felt like she'd been holding forever, and then walked over to the wall of the deserted reception area, where she leaned back on it and closed her eyes as she sighed once again.

"I've been dreading that since the day we broke up."

Nick walked over to stand beside her, slipping his hand gently into hers. Sara was touched by his compassion, and although she hadn't felt it while Hank was there, she suddenly wanted to cry again. Nick squeezed her hand gently.

"Sara, it's over. Now anything else you ever say to him will just be work. You don't have to have the awkward conversation ever again."

Sara rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe he didn't tell her."

"I know. Asshole." Nick gritted his teeth in frustration, and unconsciously held Sara's hand a little tighter.

"I guess she's just not enough for him either. Sometimes, I think that nothing will ever be enough for that man. He was always pretty shallow about a lot of things." She released her hand from Nick's as she scratched the skin above her upper lip. "I always wondered what he ever saw in me."

His eyebrows moving up in surprise, Nick turned to look at her face-on. Sara looked back at him, an expression of confusion on her face. "What?"

"You wonder what _he_ saw in _you_?"

Sara seemed to be missing Nick's point. "He was always so shallow. I could never understand why he was with me. Though I guess I know now- it wasn't just me he wanted. I was just... not enough"

Nick couldn't believe his ears. He moved even closer to Sara, standing right in front of her, their bodies touching lightly as she stood pressed against the hard wall of the lab. "Sara, come on. Any guy would be beyond lucky to even come _close_ to having you."

Sara's eyes turned away in embarrassment, but Nick felt he had to continue, especially since he figured she wasn't feeling too great on the self-esteem level in her current situation.

"I'm serious, Sara. You're… you're everything. You're smart, and funny, and you're cute, and dedicated, and loyal, and _gorgeous_. You're an amazing person, and I can only hope that someday I'll find someone even half as amazing as you are."

Sara finally looked up at Nick, struck by the sincerity in his eyes. He looked intensely back down at her. She felt the overwhelming emotion of the past few weeks come flowing back to her again, mixed with the new feeling she was having because of Nick, and she felt her eyes fill with tears again. "But I don't _want _to be like I am now. I just keep thinking that maybe if I _change_, all this crap won't keep happening to me."

Nick smiled down at her. "Hank is a god damnmoron, who obviously had no idea how damn lucky he was. Don't you dare change. I'd miss you too much." A few tears spilled down her cheeks as she blinked a little.

He wrapped her in his arms, speaking into her hair.

"You're perfect just the way you are."

Sara sniffed, and wiped her eyes with one of her hands. "Nick, nobody's perfect." She leaned back a little from Nick and looked up into Nick's eyes, surprised by the emotion and almost _longing_ she saw there.

"_You_ are."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Woo, so many reviews! Well, for me, anyway. Thanks guys :)

I swear, I have _huge_ issues with distraction and procrastination. My notes as I was writing this are hilarious, I must say (if a little off-topic); I ended up writing a two-versed song about how tired I was at the same time. Go figure. Hey, it's 2am: don't blame the weirdness on me.

* * *

To both of them, it felt like a small eternity, as Nick and Sara stood staring into each other's eyes in the quiet, empty reception area. His arms were still held lightly around her, her hands resting against his back as they looked intently at each other, their expressions conveying so much, each hoping the other wouldn't push away. It was as if they were too mesmerised with one another to even speak. 

Neither of them made any attempt to stop Nick's unconscious decision, as he moved one arm and reached out with his hand to gently wipe a slight tear trail left across Sara's cheek with his thumb, his hand resting against her jaw before trailing slowly down her neck, his fingertips lightly grazing a few strands of hair. Sara exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, her breath warm against Nick's wrist.

A far-away, ernest-sounding female voice sounding from down the corridor instantly broke their silent trance. "Nick?" The sound of Catherine's high-heeled boots echoed towards them, causing Nick and Sara to jump, springing away from each other awkwardly as Nick snatched his hand back from her face as if it were on fire. Sara turned herself away to look down the other end of the hallway, avoiding looking at Nick as much as possible. She wasn't exactly sure what had just happened between the two of them, but it was most certainly not something she wished to discuss right then and there. She shoved her hand in her pocket, ran her other hand through her hair, and tried to appear as calm and casual as possible, despite feeling her face flush profoundly.

Catherine strode towards the pair carrying her keys in her hand, initially noticing their seemingly embarrassed manner, but deciding to take the tactful approach and to not comment. "Oh, good, you're both here. Case developments. You guys are with me." She walked around and over towards the door to the parking lot before flipping her head back to look at the twosome, surprised as neither CSI had spoken or even moved from their original location when she had first arrived. "Okay… did I miss something?"

Nick looked questioningly at Sara, who was still as pink as she had been a moment ago. She did not look back, as the two of them spoke to Catherine at the same time.

Nick coughed slightly, crossing his arms as he leaned on one leg. "Uh, no…"

"No, no, uh, nothing." Sara silently rebuked herself for sounding so obvious. She'd never been good under pressure, or good at acting, for that matter. Catherine's slight sarcastic smile forming made her feel even more self-conscious.

"_Right_. Okay, well, I'll see you guys at the car in a sec. I drive." With a yank of the door and a toss of her blonde hair, she was gone, leaving Nick and Sara alone once again.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke, and then all at once they both felt the need to again, interrupting each other and then stopping abruptly.

"Look, Sara – "

"Nick, I – "

They both chuckled in spite of themselves, finally gaining the courage to look one another in the eye once again. They felt drawn to each other; frozen, and unable to look away. The silence was almost deafening, how the could hear each second tick away from the clock on the wall over the desk. It was a slight noise emitting from the reception's fax machine that finally made the two snap out of their apparent daze.

"Uh, I'll… coffee… thermoses?"

"Umm, yeah, right. Okay. I'll…" Sara was stumbling over her words just as much as Nick was. "Get… kits?"

"Okay."

"Okay."

They quickly split up to retrieve their respective items, heading in opposite directions past each other, their arms brushing lightly, and both forcing themselves to ignore the warm, pleasant contact.

Catherine again picked up on the odd behaviour of the pair as they put their kits in the trunk without exchanging a word, as she sat in the drivers seat. She yelled over the back of her seat at them as they stood with the trunk open. "What is _with_ you guys today?"

She slid her sunglasses down her hair and onto her nose, and flicked the radio switch as Nick and Sara got into the car, with Sara choosing to sit alone in the back seat. Neither one acknowledged Catherine's question, which she apparently failed to notice. "Okay, so we've got a lead with the case. O'Reilly talked to come of her friends and colleagues, and get this: two days before she turned up dead, _four_ of the ladies we interviewed saw our victim getting, quote, "harassed" by some big-shot blackjack player. Didn't show up for work the next day." She raised her eyebrows in emphasis, looking back at Sara in the mirror. "You doin' okay back there?"

Flicking her eyes from the view out the window to Catherine's blue eyes in the mirror, Sara unenthusiastically replied. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just thinking." She moved her gaze around the inside of the vehicle, pausing as she observed Nick's soft, dark brown hair squashed against the headrest. She couldn't help but notice the way that his arms and shoulders perfectly fit to the seat, hismuscles rounding over the edges nicely. "Sounds promising."

"I _know_. So, we're going back to the casino, I'm gonna leave you guys there to get any video footage that you can, and maybe talk to any security guards or whatever? Meanwhile, _I'll_ be over at the police station, checking up cell phone records, her recent calls, that kinda thing; see if she knew the guy. Then I'll come pick you guys up, we'll all come back here, share our findings, dump your video onto Archie, and maybe even get home within the same shift. Sound like a plan?" She turned around to pull out of the parking space, before returning her eyes to the road before her.

Nick yawned. "It does indeed. Y'know, I can't remember the last time I was actually home exactly when shift ended." The thought made him sleepy just thinking about it, and he stretched out a little in his seat, folding his arms behind his head and the car's headrest. Sara watched him interlace his fingers, and suddenly felt guilty for being so embarrassed about what had happened with him earlier. The more she thought about it, the more she realised it was _fear_ above all things that had made her act the way she did afterwards, and she felt ashamed for how she had responded. She reached up slightly with one hand and stroked his fingers with hers, smiling as he turned one hand around and held one of her fingers in his. He didn't seem mad after all.

"You said it, Cath. Sounds like a plan to me, too."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** You wanna know something freaky? Most of this was written before 11pm.

You know it's a good sign when you're writing because you _want_ to, and not because you think you _should_, and when you're writing without even trying, and you're suddenly like, "Whoa, I wrote one and a half thousand words just now." Hopefully, the creative urge will stick with me!

Oh, yeah, and thanks for the reviews! At the risk of soundy all teeny-bopper, I love you guys!

* * *

The rest of the short ride was a quiet one, until Catherine pulled up outside the notorious Tangiers casino. Nick and Sara had continuedtheir hand-flirtation for the duration of the ride, an act that did not go completely unnoticed by Catherine from the drivers seat. She had again, however, chosen to let it slide, and decided to just ask them about it later, especially since they'd been acting so oddly previously. 

As Catherine pulled up to the front entrance, she pushed her hair behind her ears and turned to speak to her two co-workers. "Okay, so, you guys know the drill. Video surveillance, and any security who may have seen anything. Brass has the colleagues covered. I'll pick you up here in about two hours, but call if you need me sooner. I'm gonna be over at the police station, so I can come grab you anytime. And for god's sake, don't talk to the media. Casino hits always get the big publicity, and this is no different, so everything is 'no comment', okay?" She took off her sunglasses and looked both CSIs in the eye.

Sara tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Cath, we've done this before. Don't worry. Go do your phone records, and we'll see you in a little while."

Nick was already out of the car, walking around to open Sara's door for her. She smiled up at him as she got out, and he offered her his hand. She glanced over at Catherine hesitantly before taking it, squeezing it lightly as she grinned at him and tilted her head over. Nick leaned back down spoke to Catherine through the open door. "We'll be fine. Have fun at the station." He slammed the door and turned back to Sara, who had taken their kits from the trunk of the car. "Shall we?"

The two of them, each carrying their respective gear, made their way into the casino, where the head of video surveillance was waiting for them. The seemingly flustered man checked his huge gold watch constantly as he busily hurried them into a small room near the reception area; one wall covered in a seemingly endless number TV monitors. The man spoke quickly to them. "So, Marty's recovered all the tapes from the day your detective asked for, and they're all loaded up, so you guys just tell him what areas of the casino you're looking for, and at what times, okay? Okay. If you need anything, I'll be right outside, okay? Okay. He's all yours, guys." He gestured at the bored-looking man sitting at the far desk, who looked up and gave a half-hearted wave.

Nick and Sara make their way over to the desk as the man with the gold watch bustled past them, muttering something about the new slot machines. Marty smiled tiredly at the twosome. "Hey, guys. Sorry about that. Carl's a little… uptight."

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." All three of them smiled at Sara's sarcastic response. "You have our tapes?"

"I most certainly do. Be warned, though; over seventy cameras throughout the casino area alone, five-hour tapes, twenty-four hour surveillance. You do the math." He rolled his eyes, smiling particularly at Sara, which she seemed oblivious to.

"Well, lucky for us, we only need to look at a particular area. How many monitors can you have running at a time here?"

"As many as you want. We can have the entire day's worth of tapes all playing at the same time, if need be."

Nick grinned, his eyes glittering at Sara. "Excellent."

* * *

A little under two hours later, having found all they needed to find, Nick and Sara were waiting outside the casino for Catherine to collect them. Sara held the large, plastic evidence bag clutched to her chest. The two of them leaned against the wall of the noisy parking lot, Nick going over his notes he'd collected from a security guard who'd been working near the scene where the victim was, the last night she'd been seen. They'd been surprisingly lucky with the media, and hadn't been approached once, despite Nick's attire of his navy-blue CSI vest. 

Nick closed his notebook, returned it to his kit, and then turned to Sara, who was looking the other way. He gestured at the evidencebag she held."You sure you don't want me to carry that?"

"Nick, they're just tapes. I'm sure I can cope." She smirked at him, and then suddenly felt guilty at the slightly hurt look in his expression. "But thank you."

"Of course. I betcha Marty's jealous of those tapes right now." He smiled widely at her.

Sara chuckled, her mouth agape in mock offence. "_Excuse_ me?"

"Come on. He was totally flirting with you the whole time we were in there."

An expression of half embarrassment, half confusion crossed Sara's face. "He was?"

"_Yes_, he was. In shameless, and slightly alarming way. Didn't you see the way he kept only telling _you_ what exactly we were looking at, gave _you_ his card, asked _you_ to call him if we needed anything else?"

"I didn't really notice." Sara felt herself blushing slightly as she realised she wasn't joking. How was she ever meant to date again, if she couldn't even _tell_ when someone was flirting with her? She tried to cover up her slight humiliation. "And how can you be sure he was flirting, anyway? Are these the classic '_flirting moves_' that he stole from you, Nick? Huh?" She edged herself a little closed to him along the wall, nudging his arm playfully with hers. He nudged her back.

"Ahh, a gentleman never tells."

They both smiled, and neither one of them moved from the close proximity until Catherine pulled up in front of them less than five minutes later. Sara chose to sat beside her in the front this time, and Nick still insisted on opening her door for her before he got in himself. Sara raised her eyebrows at him as she eased herself into the seat, grinning. "So does _this_ count as flirting, too?"

Nick grinned back at her. "Only if you want it to be."

The three of them made their way back to the crime lab, Catherine speaking in an victorious tone about her finding with the phone records as she weaved through the traffic. Sara nodded when she felt it would probably fit, but to tell the truth, neither her or Nick was really listening very hard. Instead, Sara was dreaming of the huge cup of coffee she planned to pour herself the second she got to the lab, while Nick was leaning very slightly forward, and reaching his hand around the far side of Sara's seat. Although she could feel his hand near her stomach, she was surprised when he suddenly started ticking her hip, and spontaneously burst into a fit of screaming giggles as she slammed herself back against the seat. Catherine slammed the brakes on in surprise.

"Sara, what the _hell_?" Her annoyance was palpable.

Biting her lip slightly, Sara smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I, uh… I mean, Nick –"

"I kinda… tickled her. Sorry, Cath." Nick didn't want Sara to get it for his prank.

Catherine groaned in exasperation. Without a word, she started driving again, and no one spoke until they reached the lab. Nick waggled his eyebrows at Sara in the rear-view mirror, and it was all she could do not to laugh again. Instead, she made herself focus on the LVPD sticker stuck to the inside windshield, contemplating reached out and straightening it, but decided it in her best interest to not be correcting Catherine at present.

Nick leapt out of the car almost as soon as Catherine had parked it, opening Sara's door for her once again as she grabbed her bag off the floor. He whispered to her as she climbed out. "Sorry about the Catherine thing."

Whispering back at him, Sara took his hand that he offered her. "It's fine. Sorry I screamed." She giggled. "I'm _really_ ticklish."

"I would never have guessed." He held on to her hand for probably a few seconds longer than necessary, letting go as they approached the trunk, where Catherine was already standing.

"Okay, so provided the two of you can _control_ yourselves, I'm gonna go talk to Grissom about these phone records, and you guys can go work with Archie on the video stuff. Remember, we're looking for anything suspicious at our around the table our girl was working. Keep your eyes peeled especially for some guy in a dark green suit, who we've been told was… just _not getting the hint_, if you get my drift."

"Ahh. Nothing sadder than a guy who just doesn't get that he's being shot down." Sara silently elaborated her own statement. _Unless it's a girl who can't recognise when she's being flirted with_.

"Exactly." For a second, Sara forgot that Catherine wasn't agreeing to the part of the statement she hadn't hear. Moving breezily along, Cath picked up her kit and strode into the lab, calling over her shoulder. "Come find me if you need me!"

Sara grumbled as she and Nick grabbed their supplies and made a start for the AV lab. "Yeah, Cath, 'cause everyone _always_ needs you."

"I think sometimes, Catherine just likes to feel needed."

Sara paused before she spoke. "I think everyone wants to be _needed_. Catherine just wants to be _wanted_." She raised an eyebrow at Nick's slightly bewildered expression. "Figure it out."

A quick stop-off in the break room, and the two of them were seated comfortably in Archie's area of the lab, where fortunately, he was not busy. Unloading the five tapes onto him, the three of them sat at he pushed the first into the VCR and pressed play. The timer in the corned of the screen blinked at them, and Sara leaned her elbows on the desk, sighing. "Only eight hours 'til end of shift."


	8. Chapter 8

The next eight hours were labourious for everyone, and Sara found towards the end that she could barely keep her eyes open. Between herself, Nick and Archie, they had managed to identify the person Catherine had described to them earlier, but although he had passed the victim what looked like a note, his actions had not seemed particularly threatening, and they were forced to look through the rest of the footage for anything probative.

Sara leaned on her hand curled into a fist, her elbow propped up on the desktop, and looked over at Nick, who was staring though hooded eyes at the large monitor screen in front of them. His yawn into the sleeve of his fitted black sweater only made her more conscious of how tired she was, and she found herself mimicking his action. Her movement caught his attention, and he looked over at her and smiled. She smiled back wearily, before closing her eyes and contemplating napping on the desk right then and there.

As Nick looked over at Sara, hunched over on the table, eyes closed, appearing to be on the brink of passing out, he shook his head to himself. He knew more than anyone how little Sara usually slept, and he knew that if she was falling asleep now, she must _really_ be tired. He silently walked past Archie and moved over to stand behind Sara, placing one of his strong hands on her hunched-over shoulder. He felt her sigh gently beneath him.

"You want some more coffee?" He spoke in a whisper, his tone slightly husky, as it always was when he was tired.

She smirked. "If I drink any more coffee, I will never sleep again. Let's just finish looking at these and get outta here, okay? I'm _dying_."

He rubbed her shoulder. "But you hide it well." Archie chuckled at Nick's response, before deftly typing away on his keyboard, fast-forwarding through seemingly endless seconds of tape, in hope of finding something they could use.

Nick flicked his eyes briefly to the screen, before turning back to Sara. "And by the looks of things, your spine is dying, too. Do you always sit like that?"

She turned to look at him. "When I'm tired, yeah. Why?"

"It's awful for your back." He subconsciously moved his hand to the space between her shoulder blades, kneading it gently.

"Is _that_ why my shoulders are so sore?"

"Right now? Probably." He finally gave in to what he had previously been telling himself not to do, and outstretched both hands to rest on Sara's shoulders, massaging them lightly. He gripped her gently, his fingers splayed over the front of her shoulders, his thumbs pressing circularly into her back. Sara smiled contently, and emitted a slight sigh, turning her head forward a little so that her loose hair fell over her shoulders and away from her neck. Her eyes stayed closed, but her smiled widened as Nick's hands moved higher up, one massaging the base of her neck near her hairline, causing her to shiver with pleasure.

Nick felt the goose bumps rise on Sara's skin as he caressed it tenderly, and he couldn't resist reaching out with one finger and stroking the soft skin behind her ear. His other hand stroked the middle of her back, and he felt her shoulders rise as she moaned quietly, breathing out deeply.

"That feels _good_…"

Archie looked up from his keyboard quietly, turning in surprise to see the cause of Sara's moan. Although the sight that greeted him was not exactly what he expected, he raised his eyebrows, but did not say a word. Nick stared intently down at Sara, a concentrated and intent look in his eye, as she sat with her eyes closed and her lips curled into a pleasured smile. Rather than ask one of them, and ruin their apparent _moment_, he decided to let it go, reminding himself to ask another CSI about this later. He turned back around, and continued to scan through the casino footage.

So focused on the feel of Sara's body beneath him, Nick didn't even notice Archie watching the two of them. He moved his lower hand way slightly, and began dragging two of his fingers up and down in lines over Sara's back, his other hand still stroking her neck. His fingers moved systematically over her, pausing as her ran them over her bra strap he felt beneath the blue cotton of her shirt, his mind wandering to places where he felt it probably shouldn't. Sara's smile turned into a slight smirk, knowing _exactly_ what he was thinking, and wondering what he would think if he knew she was thinking the same thing.

"Whoa, guys. Check this out."

Their hypnotic reverie was broken by Archie's sudden speech. Sara's eyes snapped open, and Nick's hands moved away from her back and neck, although he kept one resting on her shoulder as they both turned to the screen before them. Archie smiled in triumph.

"Well, what do ya know? Mr. Green Suit came back."

* * *

Leaving Archie to try and pull some video stills of their man in question, Nick and Sara went off to find Catherine, intending to update her in their progress before filling out a basic shift report updating the case evidence so far, and then heading home. Nick had volunteered to go talk to Catherine, and Sara had not objected to getting to start her report quickly; sooner to finish, sooner to home, sooner to bed. 

They left the A/V lab and went their different directions. Walking down the hallway, Nick stopped and waved slightly at the person approaching him.

"Hey, Cath. Just comin' to look for you."

"Oh _really_? How'd the video footage go?"

"Good, good. Thought the green-suit guy was a dead end, but nope, he came back. Seen following the vic away from the table after her shift. Archie's working on some stills."

"Excellent. Nice job, you guys. Where's Sara?"

"Filing shift report. We clock out in a little under a half-hour, so we're just gonna write up and then head home."

"Great. You guys have been working hard lately; if you wanna leave a few minutes early, I won't tell." She winked conspiringly at him. Nick chuckled at her.

"Y'know, I might just take you up on that. Thanks, Cath. Have a good morning."

"You too, Nick." She patted him on the arm before walking past him and into the break room. Nick turned around and went to find Sara.

The sight that greeted him as he stood in the doorway made him smile. Sara's paperwork lay out on the table in front of her, her arms folded over it, her head resting atop. She was fast asleep, breathing deeply and evenly, looking more serene and peaceful than Nick had seen her in a long time. Her hair lay spread out, some falling onto the table, and he walked over to stroke her head caringly, marvelling at the softness of her locks. Staring at her for longer than he hoped anyone would know, he contemplated waking her up, but decided instead to just take her home, especially after what Catherine had just told him moments ago. Being as careful as he could, he gently eased her out of her chair and over his shoulder, chuckling as he looked at her shift report. _Sara Si_–. She hadn't even finished writing her name.

He carried her carefully through the empty halls of the lab, signing his name and hers at the reception desk with his free hand before leaving the lab and arriving at his car. He opened the door to the back seat and lay her gently down inside, buckling her in, then standing up to just look at her. Even in her slouched position, her hair slightly messy and her eye makeup smudged, he still thought she was beautiful. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then climbed into the front seat to drive them both home.

* * *

**A/N:** So, a little short, and a little cliche,but in my defense, I am very, _very_ tired. And to the lovely chapter 7 reviewers- thanks :) 


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Sooo… A Christy, I guess I win, huh? ;) _Muahaha_! And I know just what my prize can be- a new chapter from _you_! (hint, hint!)

Thank you for the reviews, and a special thanks to those who offered me coffee and cookies ;)

Oh yeah, and what is with these freakin' words always sticking together?

* * *

Nick drove to Sara's place as smoothly as he could, not wanting to wake her up in the back seat, checking up on her in the rear-view mirror every few minutes. He contemplated driving Sara back to her own place, using his spare key she'd given him soon after they became friends, but decided it would be just as easy to bring her back to his house; she could take his bed, and it would save him having her pick her up the next morning. He made a last-minute turn and headed for his own residence, which he figured, being one-storey, would be easier to carry Sara through anyway. 

He pulled into his paved driveway, and then went carefully around to the back door to retrieve his slumbering passenger, being careful not to wake her. She didn't stir as he leaned down and unbuckled her. He pulled her gently from the seat, one arm wrapped around her back and the other resting against the backs of the thighs, pulling her close to him. He smiled to himself at the comfortableness of their close proximity, and the way she lay her head sleepily against his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck. Her arms rested lightly around his back, and he could faintly smell her subtle perfume. Swinging around to close the car door as silently as possible, he couldn't help but think to himself about how comfortable, and _natural,_ it felt, having her in his arms. He found himself stroking her lower back gently at the thought, as he walked slowly up to his front door, and let himself in.

For a moment, he thought about leaving her to sleep on his fold-out sofa in the study, but decided it would be too much work to set it up without waking her, and went with his original plan of just leaving her in his bed to get some evidently much-needed sleep. He could sleep on the couch, or just sleep beside her in the bed, although he wasn't going to let his mind wander too much on that thought. Instead, his busied himself with planning to get her a spare towel and toothbrush for later on in the day, when they had to go back to work.

He entered the bright light of his bedroom, pulling back the cover on his king-sized bed and lying Sara lightly down. He eased her shoes off, and she let out a sigh in her lethargic state, before instantly curling her legs up and rolling over to face the side of the bed where he stood. With her lips slightly parted, her lay splayed across the pillow, and her hand resting delicately beside her face, he couldn't help but think of anything other than how beautiful she really was. He wondered if choosing to sleep in the bed with her would be too bold a move at this stage in their developing friendship- _was_ this any more than a friendship? With his head full of questions, he decided it was probably a better idea to take the sofa, instead of lying awake next to the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He pulled the soft blanket up to her shoulders, stroked her cheek lightly and then kissed her hair, whispering softly to her. "'Night, Sara."

He grabbed his necessities from his en suite bathroom and dresser as quickly as possible, closed the curtains, and then left the bedroom entirely, closing the door behind him. He returned not more than ten minutes later, in boxers and a loose grey t-shirt, having left his alarm clock on his bedside table, and not wanting to sleep in for work later on, as he had accidentally done a couple of times during the summer. He walked over to get it, and was surprised to see Sara staring up at him, a sleepy smile on her face before she spoke.

"Hey."

"Hey. I'm sorry I woke you."

"I don't think you did." She stretched herself out a little. "Uh, how come I'm at your place?"

"You fell asleep while filing your shift report." Nick smiled at the memory. "You looked so exhausted, so I figured I'd take you home. I was gonna drop you at your place, but I figured here was just as easy. I have towels and stuff, and you have some extra clothes at work, right?"

Sara smiled at his kindness, speaking softly to him. "Yeah, I do. Thanks. For… everything." She yawned, half-closing her eyes. "You're so sweet."

Although assuming her not-fully conscious state was affecting her thoughts a little, Nick still felt his heart leap at her remark. He stroked her hair. "Get some rest, 'kay?"

"Mmm." She suddenly flicked her eyes open to look at him as he turned to leave the room. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"I feel bad about taking over your bed."

"Don't you even worry about that, sweetheart."They both smiled at his use of the affectionate nickname."I'll come wake you up later tonight." He grabbed his alarm clock and stepped towards the door, flicking the switch on as he walked.

Sara didn't say anything for a moment, then called after him again. "Nick?"

Nick turned around, a look of amusement on his face. "_Yes_, Sara?"

Although she couldn't exactly explain herself, Sara again found herself not wanting him to leave. She spoke quietly. "Do you want to sleep here?"

"Sara, I told you, it's okay. The bed's really comfy, and you need the sleep–"

She interrupted him. "No, I don't mean…" She suddenly found herself unable to actually say what she was thinking, without it sounding rather like something _else_. Not that she'd be protesting to either idea, but this was not the time, place or scenario to be discussing such matters. She looked away awkwardly, hoping he'd understand what she was trying to say, as he always did.

Hoping he wasn't misinterpreting what Sara was saying, Nick just looked at her for a moment, the silence in the air making Nick wish he could say something, and Sara wish she hadn't said anything at all. Nick finally decided to say what he'd originally been planning to, before wondering if it was perhaps too forward for their current situation. He tilted his head and gave her a lopsided grin, causing Sara to breathe a sigh of relief. "Well, the bed _would_ be comfier than the couch…" He raised his eyebrows in caution. "You sure?"

"Positive." Sara smiled happily. She spoke more quietly as he climbed in beside her, placing his clock on the bedside table. 'Thank you for letting me crash here."

"No problem. When _you_ fall asleep at work, I _know_ you must be tired." They both chuckled, before Nick turned on his side to look Sara in the eye as he spoke to her more intently. "Seriously, Sara… you're the girl who stays up for three days straight without a second thought. You not been sleeping well lately?"

Sara sighed inwardly, hearing the question shed been praying no one would ask her. She answered truthfully, surprising Nick and herself, especially after she'd promised herself that she'd snap into vigorous denial if anyone asked her what was wrong. "I've just had a lot on my mind these past few weeks."

Nick smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, I bet." He thought about asking why she hadn't talked to anyone about it, but decided against it, already knowing what her answer would be. "But you're doing okay now?"

"Y'know, I am, actually. Thanks to you." She reached out under the blanket and squeezed his hand. He smiled at her.

"Good. To be honest, I was worried about you, these past few weeks. You didn't seem like yourself." Sara sighed self-consciously.

"Yeah, I figured. But since nobody asked me about it, I figured no-one really cared, so I didn't see much point in going to whine to anyone." Nick could hear the loneliness in her tone, and his heart filled with regret.

"Oh, Sara, I'm sorry– "

She stopped him suddenly, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "Don't be. I should have known that you'd be there for me. And you were." She yawned as she spoke, the both of them closing they eyes. "What would I do without you?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Had a little case of AWB goin' on lately. It's like writer's block, but it's _attempted-_writer's block, which is even more annoying. Add that to the excessive busy-ness, lack of sleep, and you've got yourself a procrastination sandwich. Plus, it turns out that Document Manager doesn't feel like playing nice with me right now. _Excellent. _It's officially taken me twenty-two hours just to upload this. Sigh. What is _with_ this site lately?

Anyway, _thaaaaaaank_ you to all the lovely (if slightly insane… naming no names) reviewers. :) Nice job with everything that's been posted lately, y'all! Sigh… I feel so crappy and pathetico, compared to you guys!

* * *

The buzz of the alarm clock on his bedside table awoke Nick from his restful slumber. He squinted at the strip of light that had managed to get through the drawn curtains, and was falling across the two bodies lying in his large bed in the centre of the room. He rolled over on his side to silence the offending sound, groaning lightly, before lying back down on his back, turning his head to look at the woman laid beside him. 

Although a part of him was relieved that they hadn't ended up in some _compromising_ position during the course of their sleep, he found himself slightly disappointed that Sara was in almost the exact same position she had been in when they fell asleep; curled on her side, her arms folded under the pillow to cradle her head, and her hair hanging slightly over her face, a few strands flitting up and down lightly as she peacefully breathed in and out. Although their hands had drifted apart as they'd slept, their bodies were still within a comfortably close proximity, without anything being awkward or uncomfortable. Or so he hoped. He himself still wasn't exactly sure as to their current status on the _relationship_ front. The more he thought about it, the more it confused him, although he didn't exactly want to come out and ask Sara what her take on everything was. He was so lost in thought that he barely heard the alarm sound again, seven minutes later. Rather than hit the snooze button again, he decided to just give in to his schedule and get up now, instead if having to rush, as he sometimes did when he slept a little longer.

Despite the alarm sounding twice, Sara still hadn't stirred. As several scenarios of him waking her up ran through his mind, Nick forced himself to push his developing feelings aside for the moment, as he reached an arm out and brushed Sara's hair out of her face. Although the buzzing of the clock had not woken her, she instantly opened her eyes at the touch of Nick's hand against her face. She spoke a little hoarsely as she pulled one hand from beneath the pillow and wiped her eyes, dark circles already forming from her un-removed eye makeup from the shift before.

"_Hi_..." Her sleepy smile instantly lit up her face, and Nick couldn't help but notice how refreshed she seemed, when compared to the utterly drained woman he'd been faced with just hours ago. He smiled back at her.

"Hey. You sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I did, actually. I mean…" She leaned up slightly to look at the clock behind him, raising her eyebrows in surprise at what she saw. "Nine hours. That's the most sleep I've gotten in a _long _time." She smiled a bit self-consciously when Nick smirked teasingly at her.

"Yeah, and I'd believe it. You've gotta take better care of yourself, Sara." He shook his head a little, trying to keep from bursting into a lecture he knew Sara was sick of hearing. "But you already know that." He exhaled as he leaned up to rest on his elbow. "So, showers. You wanna go first, and I'll make us some dinner in the mean time? There's shampoo and stuff in there."

"Umm, yeah, okay, sounds good. Thanks." She stretched herself out in the bed, before sitting right up and climbing out, heading towards the bathroom.

* * *

"Catherine?" Archie's voice sounded down the hallway of the crime lab, causing the blonde woman walking unusually slowly to come to a complete halt before turning around to speak to him. She sighed wearily as she spoke to him. 

"Hey, Archie. New case stuff, right? You know the A/V part of this isn't my thing…" She ran one hand through her hair, a frustrated air about her as she checked her watch on her other wrist.

"Uh, yeah, I know. That's going good, by the way, but I actually wanted to ask you about something else." He paused for a moment. "You doing okay?"

Catherine turned her eyes from the clock on the wall back to the lab tech standing in front of her. "What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I just pulled a _long_ double, and I cannot _wait_ to get back home. The phone records took us on a freakin' wild goose chase, which ended up nowhere, while Nick and Sara got to head off home early." The hint of a grudge could be detected as she sighed loudly again, blowing hair off her face.

Archie's face began to crease up into a smug smile at Catherine's words. "Ahh, they did, huh? 'Cause actually, that's what I was coming to ask you about." He lowered his voice slightly, although the hallways were empty. "What exactly is going on between those two?"

In spite of her exhaustion, Catherine's tired eyes suddenly lit up. "_Thank_ you! They were acting so _weird_ on shift yesterday, and then acted like _I_ was the one with something going on. I mean, half the time they couldn't stop flirting, and then the next thing, they'd be avoiding each others' eye contact like it was lethal or something."

A grin spread over the pair's faces. "Ahh, they seemed to have dropped _that_ by the time they got to me yesterday. We sat looking at the video surveillance for, like, eight hours, and _boy_, did we have some interesting stuff going on _there_." Catherine's eyebrows shot upwards as her mouth opened a little wider in surprise as she squinted her eyes at him.

"Oh, do _tell_…"

Archie chuckled lightly. "Well, I didn't really see that much, since I was _working_, although I think I was the only person in the room who actually _was_." They both chuckled. "Yeah, we had a little shoulder-massage going on."

"Oh my god!" Catherine's mouth was now completely agape. "Did we really not see this before?"

"I don't know if there really _was_ anything to see before. But then again, I don't see 'em together a lot, so…" He drifted off, still looking at Catherine. "Do you think we should say anything?"

Catherine grinned at him, raising her eyebrows again. "To whom?"

"Well, I was actually talking about _them_, but now you mention it…" Catherine's conspiring smile made him consider his options for a moment, before quickly decided to stick by his friends. "Well, I don't think we should tell anyone _else_."

"Right. And if I know Sara and Nick, they won't want us saying anything to them directly. God, those two'd probably find a way to talk themselves out of being busted together in the supplies closet, if they had to, and we don't want to scare them or anything. I can imagine they're both pretty freaked as it is." She paused thoughtfully, before suddenly looking Archie right in the eye and speaking with more enthusiasm than she had all day, causing herself and the young man before her to laugh loudly in the middle of the deserted corridor. "I'm so _excited_!"

* * *

Nick was just taking the pan of cooked pasta off the stove when he heard Sara shouting at him from his en suite bathroom. He couldn't make out the words, and although she didn't sound like she was exactly in danger, he ran to the door anyway. 

"Sara?" A muffled voice sounded from inside, and he could barely hear her over the running water. The words "towel" and "toothbrush", when added to the two items he could see sitting on his dresser, allowed him to deduce that Sara had forgotten to take them into the bathroom with her, although he wasn't exactly sure what do to with regards to getting them inside. He yelled through the door.

"_Sara_? Do you want me to drop them around the side of the door?"

With her "okay!" shouted back at him, he went to retrieve the two bathroom necessities, and held them in his hand as he waited by the door, expecting Sara to open it a just a crack so that he could pass then through to her.

What he did _not_ except was for Sara to yank the door open completely, leaving her standing naked, exposed and wet, mere inches from his body, drops of water dripping off her and onto the floor between them, the look of pure shock on her face reflecting his own expression.

* * *

**A/N:** I guess this could totally go in one of two ways now, huh? ;) 


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** The people… have spoken.

* * *

A silence hung in the air as Nick as Sara stood staring at each other for what felt like a small eternity, the sound of the still-running shower only white noise between the two. Sara's hand still held the cool bathroom doorknob, and she felt slightly paralysed, finding herself unable to physically close the door, or to even move at all, unable to do anything except stare through the doorway at the man on the other side, who looked just as stunned as she felt. 

Nick, on the other hand, was trying to formulate a contrite apology in his head, but seemed to be lost for words, his mind filled with too many _other_ thoughts as he tried to regulate his breathing.

The two stood, their stares locked for a good few seconds. Both their mouths were slightly open in surprise, their eyes wide, but never looking away from the others. Nick finally found his voice, although it sounded a bit croakier than he expected.

"Sara, I –"

She interrupted him, speaking quietly and in utter bewilderment, still staring directly at him. "I thought you were going to leave them on the floor outside."

"I… I though I was going to pass them through the door to you." Nick finally managed to divert his glace, moving it hastily down to the towel and toothbrush he held in his hands. "I'm sorry, Sara." Her following actions startled him even more so than the events of the previous minute.

"_I'm_ not." She raised her eyebrows at him, a smirk on her face, and before he could respond, she had thrown herself towards him, hoping desperately that she wouldn't agonisingly regret it a few seconds later. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her as she pushed herself into his chest, and breathing a sigh of relief when she felt him drop the towel and toothbrush on the floor beside them as he grasped at her slim hips.

Their lips met suddenly, crashing together with an energy they both felt rush through them. Sara pulled at Nick's shoulders slightly, their mouths never separating, leading him into the steam-filled bathroom, where she kicked the door closed behind them with her foot, although it did not shut all the way. She leaned up against the cool condensation-covered wall, pulling Nick's head down towards her eager mouth. She wasn't exactly sure what had occurred between them, but for once, she wasn't going to stop and over-analyse everything.

Though Sara had taken him by surprise, he certainly wasn't complaining at everything that was taking place at the current time. It was something he'd fantasised about for so long, and he found that now the occasion had arisen, he was lost for words. The only thing he could focus on was everything his senses could take in; the softness of Sara's skin under his hands, the taste of her tongue against his, and the smell of his shampoo in her hair, which he for some reason found incredibly sexy.

He felt her hands slide down from behind his neck to his hips, scrambling to remove his loose-fitting shirt. He didn't argue with her, allowing her to lift it up, their mouths leaving each others momentarily to allow Sara to pull the shirt over his head and throw it over to the other side of the room. Her eyes lit up at the sight of his chest, as she pressed her palms into it, her nails running over his pectorals. He breathed in deeply, before pulling his mouth away from hers to duck his head down to her neck, suckling on it, pushing her flush against the tiled bathroom wall as his hand trailed over the still-damp skin on her stomach.

Sara breathed in harshly as his hand moved upwards. His fingers circled her breasts and collarbone, teasing her, never quite touching her sensitive nipples. She decided to play the same game with him, snapping at the waistband of his boxers, sliding her fingers just below at the hip and wriggling them at his upper thigh. He groaned, moving his mouth over from her neck a little to roll his tongue over her collarbone, his fingers still only circling her. He finally gave in as she begun to slip his underwear down, causing him to groan against her skin. He lifted his head again to kiss her on the lips, roughly pulling her away from the wall and leading her towards the other side of the bathroom, where the shower was still running.

He began to walk backwards towards the shower, her following his lead, still attached to his mouth. His boxers sat dangerously low on his hips, Sara continuing to play at the elastic, edging them just a little lower as they slowly stumbled across the floor and over her bra she had thrown there before her shower. She moved her hand from his hip to around just below his belly button, running two fingers up and down over the treasure trail of hair that crept from under his waistband.

They finally made their way to the shower door, though both were too involved with one another to really notice. Not a word had been exchanged between the two since their apparent _spontaneous combustion_, partly due to how overwhelmed they both felt with everything, and partly because they were both afraid of breaking the spell between them. So when Sara whispered Nick's name in a husky tone he'd never heard from her before, as she slid her tongue into his mouth, they both knew it was the make-or-break moment that would bring them crashing down to reality, letting them know that this was all _really_ happening. He kissed her back, his tongue moving against hers, flicking against the roof of her mouth, before leaning back, his hands holding the sides of her torso, to just look at her, to try and evaluate just what was happening, and what it meant. Although he would have liked to just go with everything and never look back, he'd grown up a lot since his college days, and now wanted to be sure of some kind of relationship status before getting too heavily involved in something.

They stared at each other for few seconds, both smiling uncertainly while silently hoping the other wouldn't suddenly decide this was a huge mistake. As the moment moved on, and neither of them had moved, Sara finally decided to reassure Nick of what she thought he was probably questioning. She whispered his name once again, and then lightly bit her lower lip, licking it before pressing it up to Nick's. He felt relief wash over him, as he finally gave in to Sara's previous pleas, pressing his hands squarely into her chest as she had just done to him minutes ago. He ran his fingers down and over her breasts, her nipples, stroking them ever so lightly, but somehow causing her more pleasure than she could have ever imagined. She leaned her head over to rest on his shoulder, and he turned her in his arms, continuing to fondle her from behind. She moaned, laying her wet hair against his jaw and sighing his name again, and this time he muttered her name back to her, before attacking the pale skin on her neck once more, his hands still stroking and cupping her chest.

Sara was surprised when Nick suddenly turned her around, still standing directly in front of him, so that they were both facing the side of the shower, seeing the steam still rising inside. Holding the bottoms of her breasts, Nick carefully pushed his chest against her back, easing her into the cold glass of the outside shower wall. He stopped when just her nipples were touching it, and felt her inhale sharply as they hardened on contact with the glass, making _him_ feel ever harder than he already was. Still only holding the bottoms of her tense breasts, he began to circle them over the glass, pushing his cotton-covered manhood into the small of her back slightly as he did so. Her breath quickened at the sweet rapture, and she felt herself throbbing at what he was doing to her. He finally pushed her more firmly into the glass, pushing her breasts flat up against the cold smoothness, before sliding his fingers up her stomach and breaking the seal between her flesh and the glass, kneading her taut nipples with his strong hands. She turned around suddenly, gasping as she leaned in to his mouth, her kisses even intense than before as she finally stroked him through his cotton. He lifted one knee up, bracing his legon the step at the shower door, for her to straddle his thigh, and she pushed herself over and over into it, feeling herself approach climax, and knowing Nick was feeling the same thing.

It was when Nick's digital watch beeped from his bedroom that they knew the spell was really broken. Chests heaving, they looked at one another, and both sighed simultaneously, out of both exhaustion and remorse.

"We don't have time for this." Regret was audible in Nick's voice.

"Yeah, I know." Sara reached up to stroke the side of Nick's face, running her thumb over his lips, a deeper colour than they usually were. "The _beep_ means we have fifteen minutes, right?"

"Yeah. We'd better get going." He leaned in to kiss her, smiling gently, for fear of scaring her suddenly. "But, if you're up for finishing this at a later date…?"

"Oh, you _betcha_…"

* * *

**A/N:** That was for you, Claire. :) And to everyone else who's been reading and reviewing this so far- I thank yee. I would also like to point out how _quickly_ this was posted, unlike _some_ people I could mention. Yeah, you know who you are. ;) 


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews, guys. Glad y'all approve! ;)

Aww, Claire, hon, so _that's_ what happened? I was wondering where you went! I saw you had a new story (which I _did_ manage to read, luckily! And it was _hawwt_!), but then when they wouldn't let me review, I thought something weird was up. If I ever find out that someone reported you, I will hunt them down and kill them. Or make George do it. Ooh, that could be hot.

This chapter took a little longer than I had planned to write up… though at least it wasn't _sixteen days_. :P My apologies.

* * *

In a flurry of toothpaste, towel-drying, clothes and coffee cups, Nick and Sara were dressed and out his apartment door before either of them really realised it. Barely a word was exchanged as the two hurried to get themselves into work not suspiciously late. The idea of them arriving _together_ for the second day in a row was an entirely different matter that neither of them had bothered to think about too hard yet; it would certainly be worse if they arrived together_ and_ late, and suspicion from the other CSIs was the last thing either of them needed at this point. 

They bolted out of Nick's car the second they arrived in the lab parking lot, and strolled as quickly yet casually as either of them could manage, past Judy at the reception area, and sneaking down the hall into the break-room. They were barely five minutes late, but still wanted to attract as little attention as possible. A combination of good and bad news awaited them within the quiet break room; only one other CSI was waiting in the room as the entered. It was, however, Catherine, who wore raised eyebrows and a curious expression at the lightly flushed faces of the silent twosome as they retreated to face the wall and pour their coffee.

The older CSI turned a page in her magazine as she sat on the couch, looking up at the two with what she hoped was an innocent expression. "Uh, 'evening, guys." She smiled, hoping to let them know that she knew what she knew, while still managing to deny it if they asked her. They both mumbled in response, and Catherine decided to up the ante even further. "Tired?" Her question was casual, nothing more than what anyone in the lab would ask anyone else without a second thought, but her tone implied a whole different meaning to her question, which both Sara and Nick chose to ignore.

"Uh, yeah, a little." Sara hastily pulled her mug of coffee up to her lips, trying to avoid any elaboration. She managed to spill a little on her sleeve in the process, and it was only when she examined the fabric did it suddenly hit her that she was wearing the exact same items of clothing that Catherine had seen her in less than twenty-four hours ago. A surge of panic overwhelmed her as she tried to form a believable sentence without drawing any much-unwanted attention to herself. She cleared her throat.

"I'm, uh… gonna go change. I got coffee on my shirt… sleeve." She smiled awkwardly, scuttling out of the room to leave Nick alone with Catherine, whose victoriously-large smile told him he was headed for trouble, as she closed her magazine with exaggerated casualness, propping her feet up on the coffee table and folding her arms across her chest.

"So… _Nicky_," She paused for effect, cocking her head. "How ya been lately?" Nick matched her grin as he replied, silently praying that Grissom would come in with shift assignments quickly.

"I've, uh… I've been good. Yourself?" Catherine opened her mouth to respond, but their banter was interrupted as Grissom walked in, case file in hand, with Warrick trailing behind.

"'Evening, all. Nice, easy night tonight. Warrick and I are gonna be catching up on our paperwork, unless something gets called in, and in the meantime, you guys–" He gestured at Catherine with a nod of his head, "–Are gonna be finishing up your case. I was talking to Brass; everything seems pretty air-tight. You've got your warrant for the guy's house, so you can go over and check that out. O'Reilly's meeting you there. Any questions?" A sudden noise behind Grissom caused them all to turn to the just-opened door, where Sara now stood, exhaling loudly.

"Okay, back. Sorry, I had, uh, _coffee_. On my shirt. I had to change it." She avoided the curious faces of her co-workers and slid past Grissom to the bench top beside Nick where her coffee mug still sat. She took a sip before continuing. "So, what are we doing?" Grissom's attempt to begin explaining again was cut short with Catherine's interruption.

"We're meant to go interview our guy –Damien Murdock, a.k.a Mr. Green Suit–, but I figure, since we still have some stuff to process here, _you_ can stick around in the lab, and Nick and I'll take the guy's house. Sound okay?" Her tone implied that negotiation wouldn't be possible, and despite her extra sleep, Sara felt too weary to argue.

"Yeah, okay." She took another gulp of her coffee as Grissom closed his case file to look at his colleagues.

"So we're set. I'll be in my office. Have a good night." He left the room as they all exchanged wishes of a good shift, Warrick leaving a few seconds later, after grabbing an apple from the bowl on the break room table, grinning at them as he closed the door behind him.

The awkward silence returned to the room once again. Nick and Sara both focused intently on their coffee, avoiding eye contact with either of the two other people in the room. Catherine realised she wasn't going to get any hot gossip out of either of them with the other standing inches away, and decided to get moving. She uncrossed her legs as she stood, bracing herself against the arm of the couch. "Okay, Nick, you ready to get goin'?"

He peeled his gaze off the floor to look across the room at Catherine. "Yup, sure thing." Catherine spoke again as he poured his leftover coffee down the sink and proceeded to wash out the mug.

"Okay, I'm gonna go pick up the warrant from Jim, and I'll meet you out front in a minute." She smiled politely at Sara, and contemplated hiding outside to hear the verbal exchanges between the two before Nick left, but realised that they actually _did_ have to get to work.

With Catherine gone, Nick cleared his throat, trying to break the silence. It was naïve of him, but he had hoped to himself that things would carry on as usual at work once and Sara arrived; evidentially, this was not going to be the case. He placed his hand gently on her forearm, speaking quietly to her. "I'd better get going." He felt immense relief flood over him as Sara finally looked him in the eye as she grinned in response, tilting her head as she spoke.

"Miss you already."

* * *

Nick tried to keep the conversation in the car as focused as possible on the case, but he knew that eventually, Catherine would ask him about what was going on with Sara. Now he thought about it, perhaps they should have discussed it on the way to work that afternoon; were they going to mention anything, or not? Having known Sara for a good three years, he felt he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't want to go around publicising her relationships, and this was the approach he took when Catherine finally managed to slide in the question among the case discussion. Catherine had never been one to keep her feelings bottled up, and tonight, she took a direct approach in asking Nick exactly what was on her mind. 

"What is going on with you and Sara?" Suddenly, Nick's pre-formulated answers in his mind sounded incredibly clichéd, but he didn't really have much else he could say except for taking the route of extreme denial. He turned to face her.

"What do you mean, Catherine?"

She squinted her eyes at him, mocking him. "Oh, gee, I don't know… maybe the fact that you've spent _every_ day after shift together this week?"

Nick chucked. "Okay, a) It's only Wednesday, and b) we were just _hanging out_." Catherine chuckled back at him.

"That's still every day this week, technically."

"Why is it such a big deal that we're hanging out? We hang out all the time. We _all _do."

Catherine smiled disbelievingly. "Yeah, yeah, Nicky, but… come on. You've got this… _twinkle_ in your eye." Nick laughed loudly as he turned his eyes back down to the case file on his lap.

"Oh, is that a fact?" The woman beside him smiled as she flicked the radio switch on.

"Yeah."

* * *

"So, _Sara_…" 

Archie twirled around on his computer chair, moving to the printer where it was busily humming away. Sara raised an eyebrow at him, smirking, playing along. "Yes, _Archie_?"

Archie busied himself with a computer monitor as he spoke. "Whatcha been up to lately, huh? It feels like so long since I've seen you."

Sara's observation skills, and habit of reading between the lines had been finely tuned with her years of CSI work. Although she instantly knew what Archie was referring to –had he been talking to Catherine? She would have to be more careful– she decided to play dumb.

"Umm, not much, really. Catching up on some sleep, I've been contemplating taking up squash in my spare time…" Archie continued to play along with her.

"_Really_? Not… seeing anyone?" The large machine in the corner of the room clicked loudly. "Your printout's done."

Putting on her best _blank_ expression, Sara walked over to snatch out the paper. "No, actually. I've gotta get back to Greg; check the SART DNA results. Thanks, Archie." She grinned widely at him, smiling more in silent victory than actual friendliness. Nope, she wasn't going to give them anything.

* * *

Nine hours later, as Sara sat in the Evidence Room, writing up the results of the DNA Greg had processed, she found herself surprisingly thrilled as she saw Nick trudging down the lab hallways, his bulging forensics kit in his arms, Catherine trotting along behind him. Sara left the room she was in and followed them as they rounded the corner and came to a halt at Greg's workstation, dumping some of their plastic evidence bags onto the trolley beside him. Catherine began to briskly explain the particulars of the processing required to the young DNA tech, and he rolled his eyes at Nick and Sara when he thought Catherine wasn't looking. 

"Yeah, Cath, I think I got it, thanks…"

As the two continued talking, Sara silently reached for Nick's hand beside her. He turned to smile at her, and she pulled gently at his arm, leading him out of the room, Nick calling over his shoulder to Catherine something about needing a snack.

As the duo entered the break room, Sara still didn't let go of Nick's hand. They closed the door behind them, and she was forced gently back against it as he leaned into her and kissed her softly.

"So," He kissed her again. "How did they house-search-slash-interrogation go?"

Sara interlocked her fingers against the small of his back, looking up into his dark eyes. "Well, the _talking _was a total bust. The guy wouldn't say a word. We did manage to recover evidence from the house, though; blood and stuff. And, his _tasteful_ green suit. If you ask me, anyone who wears something that hideous should automatically be arrested." Nick chuckled, and held her a little tighter as he leaned down to kiss her again. She squirmed beneath his grasp, and he moved his mouth to her neck, his hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

He mumbled against her skin. "So, what do you say we hang out after shift?"

Sara giggled. "For the third day in a row? Don't you think they'll be getting a little suspicious?" Nick giggled back at her, shaking his head playfully.

"Well I don't care what _they_ think. Because I," He kissed her lightly on the lips. "Want," Kiss. "You." He let his lips linger a little longer this time, and it wasn't until Nick's pager went off that they broke apart with a jump. He sighed in contempt at the message. "Change of plan. Too much evidence needs to be logged in. Looks like we're gonna be pulling a double." He smiled apologetically at her. She smiled back, shrugging.

"There's always coffee."

* * *

**Une Autre A/N:** I have to say, this chapter wasn't as fun as the last one to write… but at least it was G-rated. ;) Oh, I mean, uh, **_K_**, I think? 


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Thank for the reviews, peeps (ahhh, my dear A Christy, you're just too much fun to annoy :P ). Sorry this chapter took so long; busy, busy, _busy_ couple of weeks, so thanks for hangin' in there. It also makes one less inclined to write when one ends up jabbing oneself in the eye with one's glasses because one cannot be bothered to take them off while changing into one's pajamas, resulting in slightly blurry vision in one's right eye. Now I'm an insomniac, procrastinating, _visually-impaired_ idiot, I guess. :)

* * *

The next few hours at the lab were so busy that neither Nick nor Sara had any time to complain; they worked non-stop on processing everything from their crime scene as the blood evidence was processed. They worked in separate rooms, with hardly a spare moment to even think about each other, though this did provide for fewer distractions from their diligence. 

Greg finally matched the DNA recovered from their suspect's house to that of the victim, and their case again Damien Murdock was air-tight. Catherine's triumphant shout from the DNA lab down the hall diverted Nick's energy from the pad of paper he and Ronnie were processing with the ESDA equipment, and he excused himself from the room, walking briskly down the hall to check his hopes were correct in the matching of the DNA samples. He pushed open the glass door and walked in with a smile.

"_Cath_, tell me he's our guy…?"

Catherine's victorious grin gave her away. "Ahhh, Nicky, you know I hate to tease, so let me just tell you we got him." Her and Nick's heads both turned towards the end of her statement at the sound of the door behind them opening once again, where Sara's smiling face met their own.

"We got him?" Sara's grin grew wider at their nods, and she pumped her fist in the air, ignoring Greg's offer for a high-five. "I'm gonna go see Brass." She raised her eyebrows a little at Nick as she left the room as quickly as she had entered, and Nick coughed awkwardly, hoping desperately that Catherine wouldn't comment. Though her expression indicated she was at least contemplating saying something, her intentions were deflected when her pager suddenly went off. She smiled as she checked it.

"Grissom. Asking if we have any clear leads on the case. That man's instinctual timing is _amazing_." She chuckled. "I'm gonna go update him with everything. Excuse me." She too left the room, leaving Nick alone with Greg.

"So, Greggo, any chance of a taste of your Blue Hawaiian, as a celebratory cup? I've been drinking the department-provided coffee all shift, and let me tell you-"

Greg interrupted him. "Well, considering I've been working almost thirty-six hours straight, I too could use a little caffeinated pick-me-up. On one condition: Sara joins us." Nick tried to stifle his smile as he patted Greg on the shoulder.

"Never mind, G. Later."

Greg grinned at him as he headed towards the door. "I always knew you liked her."

* * *

After Brass confirmed their warrant would be obtained as soon as possible, Nick headed back to the break room to refill his empty coffee mug, although over the double shift he'd already drunk at least seven cups. Checking in at Grissom's office on his way, he saw Catherine and the boss exchange a smirk at something she said, and he decided not to intrude. Instead, he kept walking, and smiled when he saw Sara sitting on the couch through the window of the break room. He pushed open the door, and Sara's expression lit up when she saw him enter. 

"Hey."

"Hey." He filled up his mug, and then went to sit beside her on the couch, his tired body unconsciously leaning back into the soft cushion behind him. He turned to face the woman next to him.

"So." He sipped his coffee. "You still up for hanging out after shift?"

He was unpleasantly surprised when Sara groaned exasperatedly. "Are you _kidding_ me?"

Nick was confused. He'd thought…

"Nick, I'm _so_ tired." She elaborated when he still looked like he slightly misunderstood. "All these double and triple shifts are starting to catch up with me." She titled her head at Nick's apparently relieved expression. "What?" He shook his head.

"_Oh_… nothing. I thought you meant… never mind." He smiled. "I'm tired, too. It doesn't mean we can't hang out." His smile turned into a grin and he grabbed her hand, waggling his eyebrows at her, though stopping when her smile turned awkward. "What?"

"Nick, what is this?"

"What?"

"You and me. What are we doing? What _are_ we?" Sara had tried to fight her analytical mind, but eventually she needed to confirm to herself that what she was getting into wasn't something she would painfully regret later. She needed to be sure.

Nick thought for a moment before he replied. "I don't know, Sara. I mean, what do you _want_ this to be?" He still held her hand, and she tapped one of her fingers against his in thought, sighing.

"I don't know, Nick. I mean… after everything that I've been through recently, I would have thought this was the _last_ thing I'd want to get myself into." She paused, but spoke again before he had the chance to. "But it feels different with you, even though I have no idea what we're doing. I have no idea what _making out in the bathroom_ signifies in your books. I mean, are we… _dating_?"

Nick smiled thoughtfully. "Would you _want_ to date me?"

Squeezing his hand a little as she spoke, Sara smirked as she answered him. "Okay."

"_Okay _then."

As stupid as they both felt, sitting alone together in the break room and grinning like idiots at their sudden revelation, they couldn't stop themselves. Nick leaned in to kiss her, and Sara darted her glace to the window behind the couch, leaning to check outside, so that Nick's lips landed on her cheek. She giggled.

"Sorry. It's not that I want to hide anything… I just don't want to be caught doing this _here_." Nick smiled gently in understanding. He released his hand from hers to stoke her knee, and their peaceful togetherness was suddenly interrupted by Catherine barging in.

"_There_ you are. Brass doesn't think the warrant's gonna be through for at least another twelve hours, and since all the rest of the physical evidence is processed, we're off the clock." Her tired eyes came to rest on Nick's hand resting on Sara's leg, and she exhaled exasperatedly, placing her hands on her hips. "Okay, are you two dating, or _what_?"

Nick grinned at her. "As a matter of fact, we are. Now, if you'll excuse us…" He stood up, pulling Sara with him, and the two of them made their way to the door, not looking back once.

* * *

Taking separate vehicles for the first time that week, Sara followed Nick back to his apartment. Knowing their chances of being called in over the next day were slim, especially since they'd just pulled a double, they'd decided to stay together after shift, after Nick promised Sara that they _would_ actually _sleep_. 

Sara giggled as she walked through Nick's front door and past his kitchen. "You still have the pasta in the sink."

"Oh, yeah. I guess we didn't really get around to eating it, huh?" They both blushed lightly at the memory. "I could heat it up again now, if you want?"

"Oh, I _know_ you could." Nick chuckled at her meaning. "Yeah, pasta sounds good."

"Just make yourself comfortable in the living room. I'll be in in a sec."

"Nah, actually, I think I'd much rather help you in _here_." She walked over to where he stood at the sink, wrapping her arms around his waist and lying her head against his back, the reality of her exhaustion finally setting in. Nick turned himself around slowly and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head against the top of hers. Sara was tall for a woman, but being wrapped up in his strong arms somehow made her feel so small and secure, and so oddly _feminine_. She smiled to herself.

Nick spoke quietly. "Do you really want dinner?" She shook her head. "Okay. Let's go to bed." He slipped his hand into hers and pulled her gently towards his bedroom. After brushing their teeth and slipping under the covers, Sara snuggled up to Nick and fell asleep almost straight away, feeling more comfortable and content than she had in a long time.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Again, thanks so much for the reviews, guys. :)

Well thank _god_ that FINALE FEVER is over; I can breathe again! Though it does mean that we have to wait the _four months_ for a new episode, but at least we know that our dear Nicky is safe. :) So, who cried during the episode? (hides face) Yeah, I did. More than I'd be willing to admit, really; it wasn't a pretty sight.

* * *

The morning sun streaming through the small gap in the curtains woke Sara up, and she was momentarily disorientated, since she usually woke up for work as the sky was getting _darker_. After quickly realising the reasoning for her waking at this hour, she finally became conscious of exactly _where_ she was, and with whom. A smug smile overtook her sleepy expression as she acknowledged Nick's strong arm wrapped around her slight frame, pulling her close to him. Sara usually tossed and turned in her sleep, often waking up with her blankets kicked off, and her body in positions she didn't even know how she got herself into, but somehow, sleeping beside Nick had relaxed her, and she'd hardly moved from her original position of rest. Her mind flashed back to one particular incident with Hank, where she'd woken up yelping and gasping for air, as he'd practically suffocated her as they slept, pulling her face into his chest. She giggled to herself; their relationship had never exactly been the epitome of true romance. 

She turned herself in Nick's arms as gently as she could, but still managed to wake him slightly. She leaned up on one elbow as he stirred, bringing her hand up to stoke the side of his face gently, and his eyes flickered open.

"_Morning_."

"Morning." She smiled. "It's so weird waking up when it actually _is_ morning."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry, did I not close the curtains enough?"

"It's fine." She leaned up to look past him at the clock on his bedside table. "And I still slept even more than I usually do."

Nick smiled, combing her bed-head out with his fingers. "Yeah, me too. And I didn't wake up _once_ all night. Maybe we should sleep together more often."

His lame joke made her chuckle, and she decided to up the ante. "Yeah, maybe – in _whichever_ sense you were referring to." He raised his eyebrows in amusement, and brought his head forward to kiss her, bringing his hand around to the nape of her neck and pulling her face closer to his.

Sara wasn't exactly sure where this was going, but she really didn't feel like thinking at the moment. She let her mind relax and her body take over, as she grabbed at Nick's muscular arm and felt him roll himself over on top of her, pressing her into the softness of his mattress as he continued to kiss her. As both of her hands moved to wrap around his neck, he surprised her by grabbing her lightly at the wrists and pinning her hands above her head, still kissing her intently. His eyes diverted up to notice the line of dark blue ink against the paleness of her forearm that the sleeve of her t-shirt didn't cover, and he lifted his head to grin at her.

"Well, what do we have here?" He ran his finger along the marking.

Sara twisted her head back to see what he was commenting on. "Oh, right. I was labelling evidence yesterday, and the stupid pen wasn't working, so I shook it around a little and ended up drawing on myself." She paused, smirking. "I was tired, okay?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but that's it, Sara. I can't have you in my bed _unclean_." He eased himself off her and placed his feet on the floor before leaning over her once again, scooping her out of bed and directing them both towards his en suite bathroom. "You _definitely_ need a shower."

* * *

Carrying her into his bathroom, Nick turned Sara gently in his arms and placed her back against the cool wall, where she wrapped her legs around his waist and continued kissing him passionately. His hands grasped at the undersides of her thighs, and she had to stop herself from just ripping the fabric of Nick's shirt away from his torso as he brought his mouth down to lap at her neck. She instead settled for just tugging his shirt off as quickly as she could, and running her hands over the ripples of his back, sinking her mouth into the flesh of his shoulder. Nick followed suit, pulling her slightly away from the wall to yank her cotton t-shirt over her head. She'd discarded her bra before they went to sleep the night before, and now he immediately focused his attention on her naked breasts, with nothing hindering the rolling movements of his lips and tongue against her sensitive skin and stiff nipples. 

As Sara slid her hand down the side of Nick's boxer shorts, he whirled her around off the wall, still holding her flush against his body, and walked them into the glass cubicle of his shower, closing the door behind them and leaning her once again up against the wall. The unexpected rush of coolness made her exposed skin rise in goose bumps, and she exhaled loudly as Nick brought his mouth back to hers once again. He ran one hand over her soft skin, the other reaching out to turn on the shower at the highest pressure possible. The hot water streamed down their already heated flesh, and Sara dug her heels into the small of Nick's back, urging his only remaining garment off, using her hands to help her, while he himself played at the waistband of her underwear. As the steam engulfed the bathroom and Nick grabbed his bar of soap off the shower shelf, Sara knew it would be a while before either of them would leave the room again.

* * *

It was several hours later that Nick and Sara finally even thought about food, or about anything other than their sex in the bathroom, as a matter of fact. Sara sat on his couch, watching TV, wrapped up in a huge, soft towel he'd grabbed for her from his cupboard. It even smelled like him. 

Nick emerged from the kitchen, poking his head around the door to call across the living room at her. "Okay, we have good news, and we have bad news. The bad news is, I have no food in my house. The good news is, you get to be taken out for lunch by me." He grinned at her, and she smirked back at him.

"Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't _lunch_ meant to indicate a meal somewhere around about noon, maybe 1pm?"

"Your point?"

"Well, according to your VCR, it's after three."

Nick looked grudgingly at her. "That thing's fast, anyway. And why are you trying to get out of going out with me? We are _dating_, right?" He emphasised the word in a way that he intended to make Sara feel guilty, but instead made her feel all warm inside. She was _dating_ someone, she was dating _Nick_, and as scary as that was for her, she couldn't think of anything she would like more.

"I have an idea; why don't we just go to the store and buy some stuff? Two birds, one stone." She looked at him expectantly, and he walked across the room in his towel to sit beside her on his couch.

"You're a _genius_, woman!" He lifted her legs up to rest on his lap as he kissed her lips lightly. "I knew there was something I liked about you."

Sara looked at him in mock indignation. "Thanks a _lot_. _That's_ why you like me?" He tilted his head and gave her a lopsided grin, and his expression melted her heart.

"Well, and you're pretty sexy, too. So, do we need to stop off and get you some clothes first?" She stifled a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I really want to be seen in public like _this_."

* * *

Finding each other more than a little distracting, it took Nick and Sara longer than they had expected to just leave his house and stop off quickly at her place, and it was almost an hour later when they finally pulled up in the parking lot of their local supermarket. They held hands as they walked in the automatic doors together, and Sara couldn't help but think how _nice_ all this was. She'd never done stuff like this with Hank; the most fun they'd ever had together was seeing movies, which, Sara had convinced herself, was just so he could spend their time looking at someone else on the big screen. Forcing herself to shake any lingering thoughts of her ex-boyfriend from her mind, she turned to Nick, squeezing his hand a little. "So, what do we need?" 

"Um, pretty much everything. I haven't had much of a chance to shop lately. What do you wanna eat when we get back? I guess no steaks and burgers, huh?" She smacked him playfully.

She eyed the isles of vegetables. "Oooh, let's get eggplant. You like eggplant?"

"Love it."

"Me too. We're a perfect match!" She threw her hands up in exclamation before placing three of the vegetables in their shopping cart. "Seriously, though, eggplant is a great substitute to meat in recipes, and has almost no fat, no cholesterol, and twelve essential vitamins."

Nick snorted. "You sound like a commercial."

"Hey, I have to be braced with facts, when people start to attack the _vegetarian way_." She followed him and their cart down to the dairy section. "Do you wanna get yogurt? Sorry, I don't think they do beef flavoured, though." She screamed in surpise when he grabbed her around the shoulders from behind, fully intent on slapping her butt with the block of cheese he was holding, but instead planting a kiss in her hair.

As they drove away from the store, Sara reached her hand across the car and interlaced her fingers with Nick's. "That was fun."

"Yeah. Next time, though, try to avoid a scene with the gum rack, if you can." He laughed at the memory.

"Okay, it was not my fault they had them all stack up so high, right where you turn the corner. How was I supposed to see them? It's a health hazard, actually. I should report them to OSHA." She turned to him. "You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

Nick chuckled. "No. I think you're amazing."

* * *

**A/N:** Aww, I just realised; I think the next chapter is gonna be the last one. Yeah, I can hear you all crying now. This has been fun, though:) 


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Anyone order a pizza? I've got the extra _cheese_…

* * *

After a lazy lunch and an even lazier afternoon, Nick and Sara lay together on his sofa, flicking channels on the muted TV, though neither one of them was really paying attention. Sara had her head laid against Nick's chest, his beating heart beneath her ear creating a soft rhythm to which she found herself breathing in sync. Nick's left hand rested on Sara's back, his fingers twirling over her shirt, his right hand quickly flicking through the channels on the screen. He moved his head slightly to look down at Sara, upon hearing her giggle slightly. 

"Something funny, Ms. Sidle?"

She shook her head slightly. "Uh, no… I _told_ you that you flick channels fast. Is that just a guy thing, or what?" She too moved her head to look up at him, smirking at his mock-exasperated expression.

"Sara, I have over three-hundred channels. Do you really want me spending a minute on each one, so we can analyse what's on, give its pros and cons, discuss if we've seen it before, what we thought, and remember its number before moving on? We'll be here forever."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Sara emphasised her point by sliding her hand up his arm and around his neck, gently pulling his head towards hers.

They broke apart a few minutes later, a smug smile upon Nick's face. "I guess being here like this forever wouldn't be quite so bad."

Sara smiled, snuggling herself back up against his chest, appreciating the warmth of his skin. The comfort of his touch was just one of the many things about him that she found herself adoring more every day.

They stayed on the couch in silence for a while, their quiet, almost synchronised breathing the only sound in the room. Sara felt herself almost drifting off, despite the extra sleep she'd been getting lately, and she closed her eyes for a second, before the shrill sound of her cell phone emitted from her bag over by Nick's front door. She groaned slightly, peeling herself off Nick and shuffling over to retrieve the offending gadget, stretching her arms over her head as she did so.

She answered on the fourth ring, right as her voicemail was about to kick in. "Hello?"

"Sara." Catherine tried to keep her curiously from leaking through in her voice. "Uh, you busy?"

Sara rolled her eyes, wishing facial expressions could be transmitted through phone signals. "No, _Cath_, not really." She spoke Catherine's name a little louder, gesturing to the phone at Nick's questioning expression. "What's up?"

"Okay, the good news is, our case is closed. He's at PD now- just gave it all up. The bad news is…"

"…You need us in at work?" Sara silently prayed that her guess was way off.

"Unfortunately, yeah. There's been an incident at McKinley High, and Grissom wants everybody in, ASAP. You can meet us there. Tell Nick?"

"Ugh." She sighed grudgingly. "Yeah, sure. We'll see you in twenty." She resentfully poked her phone back in her bag before retreating to the living room once again, sitting back down with Nick and putting on her whiniest voice. "I don't wanna go to _work_…"

Nick chuckled at her. "Sweetheart, I never thought I'd hear you say the words." He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Twenty minutes, huh?"

"Yeah. We can meet them at the scene. McKinley High."

"Remind me never to send my kids there- it seems every teen that walks through those gates ends up dead." He lowered his voice conspiringly as he brought one hand up to play with the strap of her bra through her shirt. "You know, I know for a fact that if I drive fast, I can reach McKinley High in just ten minutes from here."

"Hmmm?"

"Yeah. So that gives us almost ten spare minutes, to–"

"Nick!" Sara giggled, and he giggled back at her, squeezing her just a little tighter.

"What? I was going to say, almost ten spare minutes to make sure our kits are all packed. I forgot my swabs last time."

Sara turned to face him. "_Yeah, yeah_… Nice save there." She began to lean her mouth towards his. "But, if you're sure we have a little time to spare…"

* * *

"You're late." Catherine's blunt greeting was responded to only by two guilty smiles from Sara and Nick. "By ten minutes."

Sara raised her hand in correction. "By eight minutes, actually. We were stuck in traffic."

"Of course you were. Don't worry, I won't tell. Anyway, Grissom's already inside, and Warrick's on his way. Do you guys want to handle witness interviews, or leave that to me and you guys do processing and collection?"

"How 'bout we stick around out here, you head inside, and then when Warrick arrives, we'll discuss with him?"

"Sounds like a plan. Basic overview: fight between three fifteen-year-old girls broke out, and now Jade Harrison is dead; contusion to the skull. She's in classroom 24B. Other two girls, Erin Matthews and Kelly Buckley, have been taken to Desert Palm; they're pretty beaten up. From what we can tell, it was just three girls getting way too violent during one lunch period, but we need to check it out. Their homeroom teacher's over there."

Catherine walked away, leaving Sara and Nick to work the small crowd that had gathered on the outside of the yellow crime scene tape. Sara turned to Nick. "I'll take the teacher, you take the kids?"

"Cool." They went the separate ways.

* * *

Neither Nick nor Sara was feeling in particularly high spirits after almost two hours of questioning witnesses on the horrific events that had transpired at the school. With a few leads as to the reasons behind the outburst, but nothing concrete, the twosome went to find the rest of their team, still inside the school building. 

The area around the body of the teen was still being processed, and her belongings being looked through by Warrick. Sara looked down sadly at the still body.

"Pretty girl." Nick sensed Sara's emotion in her voice, and silently slipped his hand into hers. It was cool to the touch.

Warrick's glum tone was evident in his response. "Didn't seem to help her much. She's got a bunch of hate notes in the front pocket of her bag, and Grissom's checking out her locker now." A voice from the doorway interrupted them.

"Hey, you almost ready for us?" Without even turning around, Nick and Sara both knew exactly who it was.

Across the room, David looked up from his clipboard. "Those the EMTs? Great. We've been ready for a while for you guys; just getting a head-start on the processing around her." David's friendly demeanor turned cold when he saw who was at the door.

Hank's glance turned almost sneeringly towards Nick's holding of Sara's hand, an action that did not go unnoticed by Sara herself, and she felt all her fury towards the man come flooding back. Nick squeezed her hand even tighter, and she suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to just get out, and get away from him and everyone. Instead, she quietly slipped her hand away, and wordlessly walked out of the room, down the empty, echoing corridors and out of the building, turning a corner and leaning herself against a brick wall near the car park. She hoped to herself that Nick wouldn't follow her – she just wanted to be alone right now – but she knew in her heart that he would, and she wasn't wrong.

"Sara?"

She stayed quiet, but heard him approaching, not turning to look at him, and only making eye contact when he was standing directly in front of her.

"Are you okay?" She sighed, still not speaking, not sure of what she was going to say, or what she was even thinking, exactly. Nick held on to her shoulders.

"Sara's, it's going to take some time. But you're going to be okay."

She finally found her voice, and blurted out the first thing she thought of, although regretting it instantly.

"Nick, I can't do this."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Do what?"

"This. Us. Relationships. They don't work for me." She suddenly felt a huge rush of emotion, and found herself rambling on about everything she'd been trying to push out of her mind.

"When there's me, there's relationship trouble. I don't want to have to go through that again. I don't want to have to put _you_ through that. I can't do relationships. I'm not one of those people. I– " She found herself close to tears, and Nick pressed his finger to her lips, urging her to stop talking for a moment.

"Sara, I know. I know it's soon. I know you didn't want to get into something like this so soon. I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. I never thought this would happen – but I never would have let it happen if I didn't really think we had something here."

Sara finally found the words. "But all you get is me. Just me. I'm never enough for anybody."

A feeling of huge sadness washed over Nick, at the idea of how she could ever think that about herself. He brought his hand up to the back of her neck, whispering to her before he kissed her.

"You're more than enough for me."

_**Fin.**_

* * *

**The super-dooper final A/N: **And there we go! For my first chapter fic, this was a lot of fun! 

(clears throat) I'd like to thank my agent, the academy, and _everyone_ who reviewed this- thank you, thank you, _thank you_ for all the nice comments and everything. You guys are awesome. :)

Special thanks to Claire and A Christy for constantly cracking me up, and for giving me something to aspire to, with your great writing. :D


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